A Bump In The Road
by Remyrabid
Summary: AU - Best friends Betty and Jughead decided to live together for College, now finished they are literally met with a bump in the road. Can they work it all out? Or will this be the beginning of the end for them? First time ever writing a fic guys, i did it all on my own, i hope you like it, Please let me know what you all think and whether or not i should continue :)
1. Chapter 1

Betty was fed up. Fed up of the same response from employers "the position has now been filled". She had been looking a job for the summer, having just finished college Betty was looking for something to fund a round the world trip she was planning before jumping straight into her chosen career of journalism.

"Are you sure? I mean Elizabeth, it's an amazing opportunity and it really is the best time to get this travel bug out of you but are you sure?" Betty's mum was the definition of supportive, she had been such a different person when she was still married to her father, Hal Cooper but after their divorce she showed a different, more maternal side to her daughters.

"I'm sure mum." she breathed out "Like you said, it's the right time and Ethel said she is planning on going regardless of whether I go with her so I might as well dust of my passport and go while I have a travel buddy."

"I suppose you're right."

"Yes I am right mother." Betty rolled her eyes and dragged her phone from her ear to check the time "Mum I better go. It's coming up to 6 and I wanted to have dinner done before Juggie gets home from work and he's going to be back soon"

"Alright alright, what is Jughead going to do when you leave?" Alice chuckles

"He has Sabrina." There was an awkward pause between the mother and daughter.

Alice sighed "Betty, why don't you just tell him how you feel? I don't thin-"

"No no no. I've said it so many times, I don't want to mess things up between us."

"What if you don't? Take a chance Betty just like you're doing with this travelling stuff, I hate seeing you so miserable"

"I am not miserable." Betty growled "I will find someone eventually and Jug will have Sabrina and everything will be fine." She wasn't sure who she was convincing at this point, her mum or herself.

"Well as long as you're sure."

"Once again mum, I am sure." She smiles whilst juggling the pasta and kettle in one hand "Juggie doesn't need me."

"HONEY I'M HOME!" She hears as she drops all the pasta she was holding onto the counter.

"Jesus Jug! Could you be any more louder? I am on the phone" chides Betty as she tries to scoop up the mess.

"Sorry." He states as he dumps his jacket onto the floor and scoops Betty up by her knees "Hello my love." he grins. She loves it when he calls her his love so she smiles. He smells like cigarettes and chlorine, a massive contrast but she loves it, almost as much as she loves him.

"Put me down you oaf" she chortled "Mum I gotta go, the man of the house is home and he must be starved" her sarcastic remark earns her the middle finger from Jughead as he places her back on the ground

"Hey Mrs C, Bye Mrs C" Jughead calls from the hallway as he walks towards bathroom for a shower.

"Love you mum" she places her phone down and finally starts dinner.

"So how is the job hunt going?" Jughead asks whilst shoveling a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"Pretty shit." She replies

"They're hiring at the gym for receptionists, Sabrina mentioned one of her mates were leaving" He sees Betty scrunch up her nose at this but chooses to ignore it "Come on Betts. Me and you in the same building"

"And Sabrina" she mumbles.

"Yes and Sabrina." He sighs "You should apply. You might not even see us at work, I'll be by the pool and Sabrina in the spa, you on reception. Think about it, ok?"

"Ok." She whispers and that's all they speak for the remainder of their meal.

While Betty relied on her parents during college Jughead had to get a job. His family had been divided about his decision to go to college and therefore had to support himself during his journey to becoming an author.

Back in Riverdale, Jughead and Betty had been brought up by completely different families. Betty being from a nuclear family that owned the local paper and because of this they were pretty well off and lived in a nice neighbourhood on the Northside. Typically from the Southside and living in a trailer park everybody thought Jugheads future was already mapped out for him. His father being one of the top dogs in the notorious gang 'Southside Serpents' it was always common knowledge that Jughead would be by his fathers side as soon as he came of age but the older Jughead got the more he showed he didn't belong in the Southside. So when Riverdale High offered a scholarship to the young boy in his freshman year his mother was ecstatic and that's where he met Betty, Archie and Veronica. Archie and Betty had lived next door to each other all their lives and Veronica had moved to the town from New York after her mother and father decided to separate. The four stuck together and were inseparable until graduation. Archie and Veronica made the decision as a couple to move to LA for career opportunities and Jughead having been offered a scholarship at NYU among other colleges, decided to follow Betty to the city where she had decided to move.

Trying to find somewhere affordable to rent between the two of them was harder than they had thought. However just before they were going to settle for the worst of the worst, Veronica and her dad came up with the most generous idea. The Lodge's were the richest family Betty had ever encountered and when Veronica bought up the idea of lending one of the many Lodge properties to Betty and Jughead whilst they studied, free of charge they snapped up the offer. Not having to pay any rent meant that Betty's parents were able to help her get through college without her having to find a job. Jughead however had to look for a job and he found one during his first semester at a nearby gym where he has been working as their lifeguard for the last 4 years. Where he met Sabrina.

Sabrina the Goddess. Long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a figure like a model, she was beautiful. She only started working at the gym in the last 6 months but the girl was obsessed with Jughead according to Jugheads best friend from work, Kevin. Betty loved Kevin but at first she thought he was exaggerating, she was wrong. She started to hear Sabrina's name more often in conversations. Then Sabrina started to join them on group outings, it wouldn't be bad when it was Betty, Kevin, Ethel, Jughead and she joined but when she started crashing movie nights with just her and Jughead or she'd come home with him from work and stay for dinner it started to irritate Betty. Not long after that Sabrina asked Jughead to go steady and they'd been dating for the last 3 months.

Although there was nothing outright wrong with Sabrina and she and Betty had never shared a bad word, Betty always felt awkward around her. Jughead never noticed and when Betty bought it up he always brushed it aside. Kevin noticed though and that gave her peace of mind knowing that it wasn't all in her imagination. She wasn't just making a problem with Sabrina because she was jealous of her relationship with Jughead. She didn't need to be jealous, Jughead came home to her every night, he shared his deepest secrets with her, he chased away her fears and comforted her when she couldn't sleep, he watched meaningless tv with her not Sabrina.

After dinner her and Jughead had retreated to the sofa to watch tv in their spacious Upper East Side loft. It was her turn to choose what they binged together and much to Jugheads dismay Betty had chosen Gossip Girl.

"I feel like Dan is my soul sister" Jughead adds whilst putting a hand in the popcorn bowl

"I have been saying that from the beginning, Jug."

"Yeah well I didn't think so before but now I guess I agree"

"If you're Dan then who am I?" She wonders as she places her feet on Jugheads lap.

"Blair." he responds back and that gets him a kick in the chest "Chuck then." That gets him another kick to his chest before he grabs her feet and started massaging them.

"Mmmmm" She groans

"Darota?" he offers "Cause you look after me like she looks after Blair"

"Hmmm, I'll take that one" she sends him a small smile before sinking further into the sofa to relax. She feels a phone vibrate under legs which instantly dissolves the happy feeling she had just adopted. She lifts her legs so Jughead can remove his phone from his pocket.

"Hey … Yeah ok, umm I'll be right there" He says and he hangs up. Betty sighs as he moves to grab his beanie and keys "Sabrina" he whispers as way of explanation. "Don't wait up, XOXO" he waves from the door.

As soon as he's gone Betty lets out a sigh and pauses the show. She pulls out her own phone and sends a text to Veronica.

*Hey u up for a skype sesh?* - Betty 8.49pm

*Soz B. Me and Arch are just headed to an award show hes performing. Everything gd?* - Veronica 8.51pm

*Don't worry V. Just a lil lonely enjoy 2nite* - Betty 8.52pm

*Jug ditch you for medusa again huh?* - Veronica 8.55pm

*lol yep sucks 2 be me, gonna get an early nite, have fun and tell arch I said good luck xxx* - Betty 8.57pm

She places her phone on the tea table, grabs a blanket from the back of the sofa and settles down for a nap. A rather long nap as when she wakes up again its pitch black outside and she can hear Jughead trying but failing to be quiet.

"Jug, what time is it?" She moans

"Sorry Betts, I woke you and I didn't mean to I am so so so so sorry its so late and I knew I would wake you up no matter how quiet I try to be and its so late and I wanted to just get some water and go to bed because it is really late its past 3am and I have work in the morning" He continues to ramble and it makes Betty smile. Jughead was drunk and whenever he was drunk like this he spoke way to much which was unlike Jughead who was a man of few words.

"Juggie sit down, I'll get you the water" she dictates as she lifts up her heavy limbs and pads her way to the kitchen as he replaces her on the sofa.

"Thanks Betty" he takes a big mouthful of the water and sighs "I love you" she cringes at his words, not in the way I want you too she thinks. She grabs the tequila and parks herself next to him. There's obviously something bothering him. He never drinks because he is happy, always when he is sad and she's going to find out why he is sad.

"So what happened?" She says downing her 1st shot and pouring him one.

"Nothing." he downs his shot

"Why do you bother trying to lie to me? Is it your family? JB?" 2nd shot

"No" Shot

"Then what? Kevin, Ethel, Me?" 3rd Shot

"Jesus Betty no." Shot

"Sabrina?" That gets her a look, 4th shot

He has another shot and takes a shuddering breath. "I think we broke up"

Betty's eyes widen she throws her 5th shot down her throat "I'm so sorry Jug" she mumbles. She's unsure of what to say to the boy she's loved for years, she doesn't know how to comfort him so she just hands him the tequila bottle.

"She said we should take a break, whatever that means" he hands the bottle back to her "she said that I'm not the person she imagined I would be in a relationship which is bullshit cause she knew who I was before we became this shitty couple"

She hums in response as they finish the bottle between them. "Maybe she just needs time to figure out what she wants." this is the best reply Betty can give considering how drunk she already is and how much she despised Jugheads relationship with Sabrina.

"Well I don't care." he stands up and heads for the same cupboard where the tequila came from and grabs the vodka "Wanna play a game? I'm in the mood for fun, lets play a drinking game" he babbles.

"Sure"

"Maybe we should stop now, Jug. You have work in a few hours"

"Don't wanna go, don't wanna see her." He spits as she places the now empty bottle of vodka next to the tequila.

"I think you should talk to her, maybe she'll see what she is missing" Betty offers.

"I don't care Betty, I know I'm different, I know I'm not normal but I think I deserve better than someone who doesn't appreciate me for me" He slurs.

She throws the blanket off herself and straddles Jughead, she cups his cheeks in her warm hands "You deserve the moon and the stars Jug." It's so silent in that moment that they can hear the morning birds chirping over the 5am traffic.

He looks into her eyes and sees the love she holds for him, his best friend Betty. He leans forward and their lips meet in a soft kiss.

Then another and another.

"Jug, we should stop." she breathes on his lips, he can smell the alcohol on her.

"Why?"

"We're drunk"

He kisses her again and she groans "This is the best time, Betts, we can just blame it on the drink"

The kisses get more passionate as her tongue traces his lips and she grinds onto his lap. Her hands grab onto the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands wander under her shirt and his thumb grazes under her bra. He groans into her mouth and starts to remove her top. Her arms stretch over her head to assist in the undressing. She climbs off of him and removes her sweat pants.

"Take your clothes off" She says in the most seductive tone she could muster up.

He stands up and removes his clothes until he's just in a his boxers.

"Come here" he says and grabs her up, her legs link around his waist as their lips meet again in a frenzy.

"Bedroom" she murmurs.

They get to the bedroom and fall on the bed. He hovers over and looks into her eyes as he pulls down her panties.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard, Elizabeth" she shudders at this. He moves down her body.

"Take off your bra, Betty" she does as he says. His fingers slip between her legs and straight inside her "You're so wet" He whispers to himself. He slips a second finger in her as she groans beneath him. He moves up her body and grabs a nipple between his teeth. She hisses in appreciation. He moves further up and brings his lips back to hers.

"Does this feel good Betts?" He hums against her neck and she whimpers in response. "That wasn't an answer Betty" he curls his fingers inside her.

"Ahhh yes Juggie, it feels amazing." She chokes out "I'm going to cum"

"Cum then" He breathes. She explodes around his fingers with a shout. "Fuck Betty that was so hot, I want to be inside you."

She is still panting when she reaches her hands in his boxers and wraps her fingers around his cock. He pulls down his boxers and kicks them to the ground as she starts pumping him.

"Take me" her low voice commands him.

He slides into her with a sigh. He closes his eyes and relishes it.

"Open your eyes Jughead." She wants to remember every detail of them being together and he does as she says, he thrusts into her hard and fast.

She puts her palms flat against his defined chest and pushes him to stop, he gives her a frustrated grunt. She pulls him out of her and asks him to sit up, she climbs to straddle him and slides him back inside her. What was going on between them wasn't sex, it wasn't love making, it was fucking. There were no words shared between them, they both wanted to find their release.

"I'm going to cum Betty" she claims his lips and clenches on him. "Betty I'm going to cum"

"I heard you" She pants in response "God yes.. So fucking good"

"BETTY!"

"CUM INSIDE ME" she yells back fucking him with an urgency.

So he does.

Her nipples graze his chest and she flutters on him as he cums inside her wordlessly. She falls on his chest when they are done, her legs feels like jelly. They stay silent as the morning light spills through the blinds in Jugheads room. They breathe in sync as she looks up at him.

"I'm going to clean up and get to sleep" she moves to get off of him and he grabs her hand before she can leave.

"Love you ok?" He says "This won't make things awkward between us will it? I don't want to lose you Betts" He genuinely looks worried and this tugs on Betty's heartstrings.

"Love you too Jug, we're cool, get some sleep." She pulls up the sides of her lips to what she thinks is a small smile but she wonders if it look more like a grimace.

-8 Weeks Later-

"How was your first day of work then?" Jughead says from the kitchen

"It went ok, felt good to put all the training to use but who would have thought working in a library would be so tiring?" She yawns

"If you really feel so sick we can cancel" says Jughead as he hands her a cup of peppermint tea, she takes it with a smile.

"They're only in town for one night Jug. We don't really have a choice." chuckles Betty as she gulps down the warm liquid. "We're going to be late come on".

The restaurant that Veronica had chosen was classy to say the least. Jughead was not impressed when he was told that the beanie had to stay at the loft. Archie even went as far as bringing him a shirt early on in the day just so Veronica didn't throw a fit if he showed up in a t-shirt.

"Well my steak was positively exquisite" Jughead snickers.

"Shut up Forsythe" Veronica snorts.

"Sorry Ronnie but you have to admit it is hilarious how we ended up eating in a TGI Fridays when we were supposed to be eating in a Michelin star restaurant tonight." Archie giggles.

They all share a laugh at their luck of picking the one restaurant where Elton John decides to throw a last minute dinner party. Veronica looks up at Betty as she stands up to go get another drink at the bar.

"You ok B?"

"No I feel a bit queasy, I might come with you so I can get a glass of ice ships, back in a bit boys." Betty calls over her shoulder as her and Veronica maneuver themselves through the busy TGI.

"You catching a flu B? I'll have a Pina Colada and a glass of ice chips." she orders.

"Not that I know of. I mean Juggie did have the flu not long ago but I've been taking my vitamins."

"Of course you're taking vitamins Betty, I cant deal with how organised you are, it is making my brain hurt."

"Well my tummy hurts from throwing up nothing because I haven't even been eating." Betty moans.

"Not pregnant are ya?" Sputters Veronica as she pays the bartender, she waits for a reply but is met with silence "Betty?"

Betty skips back to the table and grabs her clutch. Jughead notices her urgency "Betts you ok?"

She ignores him and makes a dash for the restaurant doors as Veronica chases after her "I've got her, don't worry boys, we will meet you back at the loft."

"BETTY WAIT SLOW DOWN!" Veronica shouts.

"V, I can't I need to find a drug store that's still open so I can buy a pregnancy test because I might be pregnant and I didn't even think that could be a possibility but it is. God how could I be so stupid? God Elizabeth. So so stupid!"

"Betty there is a drugs store across the street, I'll grab us a taxi while you grab some tests and we can go back to my suite." Veronica says with a hand on the blonde girls bare shoulder. "Then I have questions, B, many many questions."

"So you had drunk, unprotected sex with Jughead after he broke up with his girlfriend and now we are waiting 46 more seconds to find out if you're pregnant with his baby." Veronica states

"Yes."

"Shitting Hell" Betty glares at Veronica.

They sit in silence before they hear the alarm coming from Betty's phone.

They look at each and then look down at the 7 tests.

"Fucking hell Betty."

"No no no no no!" Betty Chants

"You're carrying the spawn of Jughead."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a week since Betty found out that she was pregnant and she was not dealing with it well. Apart from going to work she stayed in her room, this meant she hadn't seen or spoken to any of her friends including Jughead. He had tried to get her to come out of her room and talk to him but after the 3rd unsuccessful attempt he had given up. Much to her dismay she couldn't avoid Veronica. She didn't know it was possible to be able to ring someone so many times but after call 73 she had to answer.

"What do you want V?" She sighs into the phone

"Finally Elizabeth! Jeez I think it'd be easier to get hold of Queen Elizabeth if I'm honest" Veronica states "How have you been?"

"Glorious, so glorious. I am carrying my best friends child and I don't know how to tell him, so yep V, I am great"

"Sorry B, I guess that was a bit of a silly question" there was a pause between them, neither knowing how to address the situation that was consuming Betty. "What are you thinking?" She whispers.

"I'm thinking I can't keep burying my head in the sand, I need to get up and face facts. I need to make an appointment to see someone" she clears her throat "and I need to talk to Jug, I think he's annoyed at me"

"Good idea B, and why what did you say to him?"

"Nothing, I think that's why he's annoyed"

"I see, well, let me know how it goes. I'm gonna get going, meeting with the VMA organisers in a bit, so exciting"

"Sounds cool, I wish I had a fun job like you V"

"Being Archie's manager is not fun, it can be cool sometimes but it is definitely not fun, kisses Betty"

"Bye" She puts her phone down and grabs her Mac. She searches for local doctors and finds one to make an appointment.

"Thank you Ms Cooper, we will see you and your partner next Thursday 15th at 3.30pm" the kind lady says.

"Thanks, see you then" now all she needed to do was tell Jughead. How was she going to do that?

Instead of dwelling on her situation she decided to devise a plan.

Go have a shower,

Get dressed really nice,

Cook a nice dinner and make Juggies favourite dessert

Break news over said dessert.

She looks at the clock, 9.28pm and he's not home. Maybe he really is annoyed at her, maybe he won't come home. Its then when she hears his keys in the loft door.

"Hi" she squeaks "You're home late"

"Wow she's alive" he smiles as he dumps his keys in the bowl and sits across from her "Special occasion?"

"Nope, this is a 'sorry for neglecting you' dinner" smiling slightly "I'm sorry Jug"

"It's fine Betts, remember everyone has an off time, can we eat now?" He grins and she can't help but match his happiness.

They eat dinner and their conversation is easy but Betty can't help but dread dessert and Jughead senses it. He's always been able to tell when she felt uneasy. She remembers the way she reacted when her family split apart.

Her family had always been pretty private which was surprising considering they owned the local paper 'The Register'. Secrets and problems always stayed within the walls of their home, this sometimes meant being at home wasn't an option for Betty and Polly. Her parents were constantly at each other's throats and it only became worse when Polly came home once gushing about a new guy she was dating. Jason and his twin Cheryl were the only 2 children of Clifford and Penelope Blossom, her parents 'mortal enemies'. She didn't know why the families didn't like each other, it was just an ongoing rivalry between the 2 families that had lasted decades and it got incredibly worse when Betty's father had found out that Polly had been seeing Jason Blossom for months and no one, not even his wife had mentioned it. He tried his absolute hardest to try to split them up but it didn't work. It caused a bad atmosphere in the Cooper household. Matters only got worse when Polly had a pregnancy scare and all the secrets came pouring out.

The Coopers and the Blossoms were related and her father had kept it a secret from everyone including their mum. Betty's great grandfather had been murdered by his brother, the Blossom great grandfather and it caused a very big rift between the family that ultimately ended in the creation of the Coopers. This new information was the root of future problems. Polly and Jason decided to split up due to being related, which was heartbreaking to watch for Betty and her mum but it also led to her parents deciding to divorce and that hurt Betty.

At first she ignored all of her feelings but the more she bottled it all up the worse she felt and looked. No one had noticed how sad Betty had been, not Veronica, not Archie, not even her mum or Polly but Jughead did. She had been sulking by herself at home instead of going to school for a few days, she had claimed she wasn't feeling well and nobody questioned her. She jumped when she heard someone knock on her bedroom window. It was Jughead and he had come to 'rescue' her as he had put it. They spent the day at the beach and that was the first time she realised how much she valued him. That day was the first time he had told her "Everyone has an off time." Just simple words but they meant a lot to her, it meant that he understood her need to turn off every now and again.

"Pavlova? You must be feeling really bad for ignoring me all week"

"Or you're just the best person I know for putting up with me an

d my moods, Pavlova is nothing, you deserve the moon and the star-" Her eyes widen in recognition of the words she used. She looks down.

"Hey, lets eat this yeah?" He tries to ease the tension but it doesn't work. Betty knows what she needs to do, she knows why she made this special meal of Cordon Bleu and Pavlova.

They take the dessert to sofa where they press play on Game of Thrones. Jugheads choice of show disgusted Betty at first, especially with all the nudity and gore but now she understands all the hype.

"Do you wanna start season 3 now or wait for tomorrow or something?" Jughead gets no reply so he looks up to find Betty wiping her eyes. "ARE YOU CRYING?!" He guffaws.

"No" she sniffs.

"Why are you crying?"

"It's just so sad you know, like Daenerys was so strong. How could they show her Drogo and her unborn child like that?" She cries.

"Wow, women are so emotional, I'm going to get some more pavlova"

"Get me some too please"

"Piece number 3, little piggy, stop eating all my pavlova" he teases.

She freezes, once again remembering the reason for this planned evening. She takes a deep breath and rakes her brain for a way that she can break the news to him. She thinks about grabbing her phone and googling it. No, that's not an option. Its Jughead. Its Jughead. Its Jughead she repeats in her head.

She takes the bowl he offers her and presses play starting season 3. It's now or never.

"Jug?"

"mmm?"

Just say it, she thinks.

"Do you think Archie and Veronica are going to settle down soon?" Chicken.

"Umm I guess so, they've been together forever" he puts his bowl down before he continue

s "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just thinking about how nice it must be to have someone, someone who is your best friend and loves you unconditionally"

"I love you unconditionally" he offers

She looks out the window, watching nothing in particular "It's not the same Juggie" she glances over at him "I appreciate you saying that Jug but seriously it's not the same. They have a life to look forward to but they also have all the past to reminisce with one another" He's looking at his hands "They have a history and future they can share with their kids eventually" He looks up at this and smirks.

"Wow Betts, how philosophical" still smirking, he sarcastically adds "Is this you trying to tell me Ronnie is with child or something?"

She says nothing in reply, trying to figure out if she should just blurt it or abort mission and try another time.

"Earth to Betty" he waves a hand in front of her face to gain her attention again, his smirk has transformed into a massive smile as he bugs her for an answer. "Are our best friends having a kid?"

"No, we are." She sees the smile fall off of his face and all the energy he previously had in anticipation of her answer regarding their best friends just evaporates from his body.

"You're having a baby?" He whispers

"We are, Jughead" she breathes back, her eyes scanning his face for some sort of reaction.

"How?"

"C'mon Jug" she lightly chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

"The night me and Sabrina-" he starts

"Yeah." She finishes.

You can cut the tension with a knife. She knows Jughead often struggles to accept news that's sprung on to him. Maybe she should have googled how to tell him. She looks over at him and his head is in his hands. He's tugging on his beanie, a coping mechanism he adopted as a boy.

"When did you find out?" He asks through his fingers

"Last week when we went to dinner with V and Arch."

"That's why you were feeling so poorly" he states more to himself "That's why you ignored me all week" he looks at her with that statement and he frowns "Did it upset you that much that you were carrying MY child that you couldn't even look at me for a week?" He jumps up in front of her.

"What? Jug no!" She jumps up and grabs his hands "It was a surprise that's all, I wasn't sure how to tell you"

He whips his hands out of hers and stalks to the kitchen for some water. A few minutes of silence pass and she looks up to see him walking towards his room.

"Jughead, where are you going?" She calls

"To change. Why? Got some more news to spring on me? Did we fly to Vegas that night and get married too?" He sneers as he slams his room door.

She sinks into the sofa. He's being unfair and she shouldn't get upset at his reaction but that doesn't stop the tears spilling and dripping onto the skirt of the pretty blue dress she put on for him. The blue sundress she had worn to her graduation a couple months prior. He told her she looked beautiful in it, which is why she chose to wear it. The whole evening feels wasted now but she knows she shouldn't feel bad. What other reaction was she expecting. They're not together and this won't make him love her back.

She wipes her tears and finishes off her bowl of pavlova when she hears him exit his room. She looks up as he enters the living room and sit on the other end of the sofa.

"Sorry for being rude Betty, it takes 2 to tango I guess" he laughs whilst rubbing the back of his neck.

He is trying to make the situation better with humour but it rubs Betty up the wrong way and she sees red.

"This is not funny Jughead" she says in a tone that can only be taken negatively and he turns to her.

"I am well aware of the seriousness Elizabeth"

"Then take it seriously"

"Oh I'm sorry Betty, do you not like the way I am reacting to our special news?" He half yells "Should I already be sending out pregnancy announcements?"

"Stop being so immature Forsythe and start taking life seriously." He looks at her as if she has sprouted another head.

"I LEARNT I WAS GOING TO BE A FATHER 30 SECONDS AGO AND YOU'RE TELLING ME TO TAKE LIFE FUCKING SERIOUSLY? ARE YOU FOR REAL?" And this stuns her to silence.

She looks at him all wide eyed before her eyes start to fill with tears but for once he doesn't look ready to rush and comfort her.

"Sorry" she whimpers as he exhales loudly.

"Look I shouldn't have yelled like that but come on Betty, you've had a whole week to come to terms with this and I have had 30 minutes, I'm not ready to be a parent Betty"

"Neither am I, Jug but we can do this"

"How? We are two 23 year olds who just graduated, working dead end jobs that have nothing to do with what we want to do in the future, we don't have a home to live in, we literally borrow our home from a friend"

"We can love the baby, Jughead that's all that should matter right?" She offers

"Love the baby?" He scoffs "Love doesn't make you a great parent, Love doesn't put a roof over our heads and food on the table. God Betty, what have you been doing all week? Dreaming up a perfect family when we don't even have perfect families at home in Riverdale." He's rambling and he doesn't care if he upsets her with his words.

"Jughe-"

"We aren't even in a relationship Betty. We aren't going to magically fall in love and become a poster family for Parents magazine" she recoils at this but he continues "I'm not dad material Betty and the sooner you realise this the better"

She looks up as he moves to the door and grabs his key from the bowl.

"Juggie please wait, we have so much to talk about"

"I don't want to talk anymore Betty, I'm going-"

"I have an appointment for next Thursday for a scan, you know the clinic on 61st street" she shouts over him.

"You already made an appointment?" Maybe it wasn't the best time to tell him, she thinks.

"Yeah 3.30pm Thursday 15th on 61st street" she repeats but the shock on his face doesn't change "Well V said it was a good idea when I mention-"

"Ronnie knew before me?" And now he looks horrified

"Only because she was there when I took the test" she starts crying again

"Does she know the baby is mine?" And all he has to do is look at her and he finds the confirmation "Look Betty I'm going to go before I say something I regret"

"When will you be home?"

"I might crash at Kevins for a while" he says grabbing his phone charger

"No Juggie please don't go, don't leave me" she sobs

"I think we need some space" he wipes the tears her with his hoodie sleeves "I'll call you in a few days" and he closes the door, leaving her standing there sobbing.

*Is he home yet?* - Veronica 6.30pm

*Nope and he hasn't replied 2 my texts or calls. Has arch heard anything?*- Betty 6.33pm

*no he hasn't replied to any of our msgs, im so sorry b what r u gonna do about ur appointment 2moro?*-Veronica 6.40pm

*im going 2 go without him*-Betty 6.44pm

*do u wanna postpone till nxt wk and I'll come with u?* - Veronica 6.45pm

*Don't worry v, ill b fine, I don't want any1 else with me, I just want him there, thnks tho* Betty 6.52pm

She decides to try Kevins phone to get hold of Jughead in one last attempt to convince him to attend the clinic with her the next day.

"Hello?" Kevin pants into the phone

"Are you jogging?" She laughs

"Yes and I don't like it. What's up Coop?"

"I was wondering if Jughead mentioned anything about meeting me tomorrow?" She forces out, she really hates that its come to this.

"Sorry Betty but he's not really been communicating well this week, I mean he literally just eats, sleeps and goes to work, what happened?"

Her eyes are welling up at this but then she remembers the stuff she read up online about not stressing herself out and she takes a deep breath. "Well if he hasn't mentioned anything then I don't know why I'm bothering with him, you tell him that he knows where he needs to be"

"He hasn't mentioned anything so maybe he forgot?" Kevin offers but it only infuriates Betty

"WELL I TEXTED HIM THE ADDRESS" she seethes and then remembers who she is conversing with "Sorry Kev, just let him know I sent him the text, I gotta go"

She turns her phone off and curls up on her bed wondering how she got into this situation. Pregnant by the man she loves but not happy like she imagined she always would be.

It's a warm September afternoon, a nice day to meet your baby for the first time Betty thinks. She looks down at her phone, 3.28pm. She sighs, enters the building and heads to the receptionist.

"Betty Cooper I have a 3.30 ultrasound with Dr McCoy"

"I'll let her know you're here, take a seat" the receptionist smiles.

She only waits a few minutes before her name is called and she enters the clean smelling room.

"Hi I am Dr Josie McCoy, take a seat Ms Cooper"

"Please call me Betty"

"Will daddy be joining us today?" The doctor kindly asks as she helps Betty lie down

"Umm no. He won't be attend-" the door swings open.

"I'm not too late am I?" Jughead pants.

Betty sits up, a little too fast for her liking but she is too happy to dwell on her self inflicted dizziness.

"No Daddy, you're just in time" Josie smiles

Jughead and Betty share a small smile before she grabs his hand

"I'm so happy you came Jug." He squeezes her hand in agreement.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you have any more questions for me today?" Dr McCoy enquires.

"No I think I've asked everything I can think of" Betty smiles, she takes a peek at Jughead who is sat silently by her side.

"Well if that is all then I will see you soon for your 20 week scan where we can hopefully tell you the gender if you'd like. See my receptionist on the way out to make your next appointment"

They step out into the sunlight, not a word muttered between the two. The small photo of the being she was carrying was tucked in her purse. Reaching the loft door she stands there awkwardly as he searches for his keys.

"I think I left them at Kevin's, I was in a bit of a rush when I left" he mumbles. She unlocks the door with her own keys and walks straight to her room without a glance back at Jughead.

He sits down on the sofa listening to the rush hour traffic below him. He didn't know what to say to Betty. He knew he had to apologise to her, he knew he had to make it up to her but he didn't know how. He always knew how to make Betty smile, how to cheer her up when she was sad but he knew this wasn't something that they could just brush under the carpet. She wasn't going to forgive him easily but he knew where to start.

He shuffles over to their DVD cabinet and scans them all, he's looking for one film in particular and when he finds it he chuckles to himself, how a girl like Betty could like this film he doesn't know, she is full of surprises. Also armed with as many blankets as he could find in the linen closet he makes a plan on how he is going to make her smile again.

A couple hours pass and she still hasn't emerged from her room. He walks to her door and places his ear to it. He can hear her shallow breaths meaning she is a sleep. He knocks on the door and waits for a reply that he doesn't get so he opens door and looks at her in the setting sunlight. She's beautiful and he finds himself thinking about what their child would look like. Blue or green eyes? Dark hair like him or her shiny blonde locks? Her rosy lips? His dangly limbs?

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me?" Her voice hoarse with sleep.

"Come eat with me" he commands and offers her his hand. She places her hand in his and rises from her bed.

When she enters the living room she feels young again. He has completely transformed the room into any 8 year olds dream. There are blankets everywhere.

"We need to talk." He leads her underneath some covers.

"You made us a den"

He continues despite her interruption "We have so much to talk about and I know we need to think about the future but first I need to tell you how sorry I am Betty" her eyes soften at this "I shouldn't have reacted that way, I should have stayed home and spoken to you like an adult, instead I acted like a child and I can't act like a child anymore because we are having one, I'm just so sorry Betty I can't tell you how sorry I am"

"Hey hey" she cups his face in her fingers "It's ok Jug, I forgive you"

"But you shouldn't, I'm going to grovel forever" he chuckles into her shoulder as she pulls him in for a hug.

"I think you're forgiven, Juggie, you made me a den and you found my favourite film and is that dinner I smell?"

"Well I was listening when the doctor was talking about the foods you can and can't eat and I thought you might like something healthy-ish so I made a stir-fry"

He gets up and plates up their food, grabs a couple bottles of water and by this point she's put the DVD on "Get comfy and be ready to be amazed-"

"Betts we've seen this film about 40,000 times"

"AGAIN, you didn't let me finish Jughead Jones, as I was saying .. be ready to be amazed again!" She beams and he smiles back "I still don't know what you have against the Fast and Furious movies"

"They are awful"

"They are not" she gasps "You call yourself a cinephile and don't even appreciate the masterpiece that is Fast and Furious 5"

"Masterpiece? I beg to differ"

"Oh hush" she smiles.

He knows there is so much more that needs to be said but for now, at least he has made her smile.

The next couple days pass without mention of the child that they are expecting, both busy at work they have conflicting schedules and have found little time to talk. Finally with some time off Betty decides to plan a day for them.

"JUGHEAD JONES WAKE UP" she shouts through the door

"Fuck off Betty, it's 8am" he calls back

"I don't care, I've planned a day for us" she whines and he grunts in reply.

"Give me 20"

He's ready in 15 and they're out in the morning sun. They walk in a comfortable silence until they come to a stop outside a small café.

"I'll get a Latte, a Decaf Cappuccino, an English breakfast, and a fruit salad please" she orders

"Soooooooooo, why are we out so early Ms Cooper?"

"Well we need to spend time with each other" the waiter places their drinks down "Thank you … We need to talk Jug"

"We're having a baby" he smirks

"Yes, we are having a baby"

He grabs her hands in his before he carries on "Let me just start by saying, I know this isn't an ideal situation but I think we can make it work Betts, I was talking to my boss last night about a manager role at the gym, I think I might go for it you know, some extra money could be good" she's smiling so widely at him "what?" He asks after a beat.

"You're making plans"

"Well just because the baby isn't planned doesn't mean we can't plan before he arrives"

"He?"

He bites his sausage "Or she"

They spend the day being New York tourists, they visit the 9/11 memorial, The Met, they do a hop on hop off tour. All the things that needed to be said between them, is said. By the time they return home they are talked out. She feels so happy knowing how seriously he is taking their predicament, seeing how he has been thinking about their future really made her feel warm inside.

Her feet are in his lap and he's rubbing them like he always does after she's had a long day, nothing out of the ordinary but there's something that feels different to all the other times, something that makes it feel more domestic to her. The day they've had, the things he's said makes her want this permanently. She wants to be his and him to be hers.

But it's not the right time for her to pour her heart out. She'll wait for him.

"When are we going to tell the guys about Moonbug?"

She scoffs "Moonbug?"

He looks down at his hands "Yeah well we have to call the baby something for now, I hate saying 'it', 'he' or 'she' and the baby looked like the moon in that little picture the nurse gave us at the clinic, so you know, Moonbug" he's still looking down when he finishes and his cheeks are flushed with embarrassment.

"Jug" he looks over sheepishly "I love it"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" he pushes her feet off his lap and moves over to wrap her up in a hug.

"I'm going to head to bed, got an early shift, I'll call you on my morning break" he kisses her cheek

"Nighty night"

"Elizabeth?"

"Forsythe?"

"Love you" he calls

"I love you too Juggie" she calls back.

"So have you got everything?" Jughead asks as he empties the crisps into a bowl.

"Yep, Ethel is bringing the ice YOU forgot at the store" she sticks her tongue out at him as he pinches her.

They had decided to invite there friends over to tell them their news. Veronica had been keeping the secret from Archie and she was quite literally bursting to tell him but Betty had begged her to keep quiet as she had decided to wait for her first trimester to pass before telling anyone else. She had it planned out, the way they were going to tell everyone. Her plan was apparently not necessary according to simple Jughead who was campaigning for a text to tell them.

"What do you think they're going to say Jug?"

"Doesn't matter what they say"

"I know that but do you think they'll be annoyed?"

"It's really not their place to be annoyed Betty, it's our lives" he sends her a reassuring smile over his shoulder.

The doorbell rings and Jughead pulls the door open.

"Hey hey hey" Kevin chants with two bottles of red wine in his hands.

"Oh it's Kevin" Jughead murmurs.

"Suck a dick Jug" Kevin retorts "Guys this is my boyfriend Joaquin"

They all say their hellos just as Ethel arrives with the forgotten ice. They sit around the table making small talk waiting for Veronica and Archie to arrive before plating up their meal. The door swings open and everyone jumps.

"We have arrived." Veronica hails

"Hoorah" Jughead mocks

"Suck a dick Jones" she says as she hugs him

"Hey that's what I said to him earlier" Kevin laughs "Man I love when Miss Lodge is in town" he slings his arm over her.

"Can we just have 2 minutes of civil behaviour please, I really want a nice evening" Betty tries to referee with her friends whilst giving Jughead the side eye.

"Lets eat" Ethel calls.

The conversation flows like it usually does when the group are all together. There are laughs and debates and everybody is red-faced when they decide to play a game of charades. They all settle down onto the sofas as Jughead goes round refilling everyone's wine glasses.

"Joaquin, where did you say you got this wine? Its so nice" Ethel asks

"My mum got it for me last Christmas, not a big wine drinker so I was saving it for an occasion" he replies as Jughead pours into his.

Betty grabs a water bottle and settles down next to Archie, he looks at her funny before turning to Jughead and tapping him. "Hey bro, you forgot to get Betty wine." He points out

"Don't worry she can't" he quickly responds before going back to his conversation with Joaquin.

"What why?" He fishes and Veronicas eyes widen as she turns to Betty "Guys what's going on?"

Betty stands up and clears her throat, she looks over at Jughead. "So guys, Juggie and I have some news" she pauses and looks over at Jughead motioning for him to stand up. But he doesn't.

"Betty and I are having a baby!"

It's so silent you can hear the clock ticking. Veronica gets up and hugs Betty "Congrats B" she squeals. Everyone starts giving their congratulations and Betty is so happy but from the corner of her eye she can see Archie frowning. She looks over at Jughead and motions to Archie.

"Arch?" Jughead questions, conversations stop.

"How are you having a baby?"

"Well bud, when the sperm meets the egg and it-" he starts

"Cut the crap Jug, I'm being serious, you're not together" Veronica places her hand on Archie, a gesture to make him stop but he doesn't "Are we being Punkd?"

Betty's face turns red and Jughead notices her hands fisting "No we're not pranking you, She's nearly 4 months pregnant with our child"

"How? When?"

"Archie I don't think It's any of our business" Kevin pipes up.

"You're right its not his business" Jughead agrees "We slept together once and we weren't careful, she got pregnant and when she told me I was slightly uneasy at first but I'm happy and she's happy and we are going to raise this baby, together as friends" he smiles at her and she smiles back with happy tears in her eyes.

"AWWW YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE" Ethel squeals and everyone laughs.

"So what happens when this doesn't work out?" Archie questions

"It will." Jughead replies

"Two friends, successfully raising a kid, sorry I don't think that will work"

"Well good thing nobody asked for your fucking opinion then"

Archie narrows his eyes at him as Veronica grabs her purse "Archie I think we should go, Betty I'm so sorry"

"Its ok" Betty whispers

"No it's not ok and when it doesn't work, don't think I will have any sympathy for you" Archie derides as he grabs his jacket

Jughead jumps up at this and Betty moves to grab his arm, afraid the disagreement will end in a brawl

"It will work Archie because although we may argue or disagree over things, she's my best friend and I love her and we are going to love this baby too, couple or not" As Jughead finishes his speech the rest of the gang announce they are leaving also with pity in their eyes.

They tidy the mess in silence, both wondering how their nice evening turned sour. It's only when he really looks at her that he sees the tears rolling down her face.

"Hey hey" he coos

"Do you think Archie was right? Are we living in a fantasy world?"

"No, I think we are making the best of the situation we are in" he wraps his arms around her waist as she puts her head over his heart.

"What if it doesn't work?" She speaks into his shirt

"It will"

"How do you know?"

"Because this family doesn't consist of Archie, Veronica , Kevin and everyone else, it's just you, me and Moonbug, ok?"

"Ok"

He kisses her head and releases her from his embrace "Right, fair Juliet, lets run you a bath"

"Oh Romeo, you treat me so well, CANDLES PLEASE!"

"Yes ma'am" he salutes.


	4. Chapter 4

Jughead chuckles from the doorway at Betty as she tugs on the bottom of her shirt trying to cover her protruding stomach.

"Shit Juggie, Buzz off" she shouts in anger "Nothing fits now"

"Pretty sure Ethel mentioned something about shopping for new stuff, you know the maternity bits"

"Yeah well I didn't think I'd need to go so soon" she pouts walking past him and straight into his room.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting a fucking t-shirt Jug, is that ok?"

"Woah moody mary" he hands her his guns and roses t-shirt and she sighs

"Sorry, I'm just really nervous about telling my mum about Moonbug" she states whilst unbuttoning the old shirt.

"We'll be fine" he smirks, he removes the new top from her hands "Arms up Betts" he forces the it over her head and she pushes her arms through.

"Thanks for dressing me DAD"

"No problem, kiddo, gotta get the practice in sometime"

"Let's hope Moonbug isn't a smartarse like daddy ay?" She speaks to her stomach as she exits his room.

It was a chilly November and if Betty could stay in the loft she would but she couldn't. She was getting ready to make the journey home to Riverdale for thanksgiving, on her own.

"Have you got everything you need?" Jughead questions

"Nope"

"What's missing?"

"You" she frowns "Remind me why you're not coming with me?"

"Not this again Betts, I'll be right behind you, there's some bits at the gym that I need to take care of"

"And the bits take 2 days? If I knew you taking this manager job meant I'd get this lonely then I would have insisted you said no"

"Wow Betts, needy much?" He packs her vitamins in her handbag "I'll be with you in 2 days" he promises.

"Fine." She huffs as she grabs her bags and pecks his cheek "See you in 2 days loser"

"Erm .. can you zip up your coat please, its cold out and I don't want a sick moody mary"

"Bye Forsythe" she sings as she slams the door.

He sighs, peace and quiet he thinks. Jughead had been looking forward to the 2 days on his own if he was honest. He felt bad for being happy about flying solo but as much as he loved Betty, she was stressing him out. He knew she was going through changes and she was carrying a tiny human in her womb, he had no reason to be stressed but he was, there is so much to do and basically no time. On the other hand, he was looking forward to his trip back home. He hadn't been home in a while and even though he didn't always get along with his father, he was eager to see his sister and mum.

Thanksgiving was always Jugheads favourite holiday. He loved eating and Alice Cooper always cooked up a storm. The last few years he had spent thanksgiving at the Coopers, although at first Mrs Cooper complained about Betty bringing home 'strays' but by year 2 he had his very own seat inbetween Polly and their Uncle Earl. At first he felt bad for abandoning his own family on such a family orientated day but couldn't bare the snide comments made by his father and arguments they caused so he taught himself to not care. He was happy and that's what mattered and another benefit was more time with Betty.

He goes to the fridge to grab a beer but comes up short. He forgot to pick some up at the store, he grabs his coat and keys and heads for the best bar in town, in his opinion anyway. It's a cold evening and he cant help but think of Betty and her unzipped coat.

*Hope u zipped up that coat Juliet* - Jughead 8.57pm

*Yes, father. nearly home*- Betty 8.59pm

*Txt me when u get thru the door, no earlier* - Jughead 9.00pm

*Protective juggie is so cute, he makes my womb hurt* - Betty 9.04pm

*I think u'll find ur womb hurts cos theres a human in it* - Jughead 9.06pm

*lmao btw just spoke 2 v and she said her and arch r in town 4 the hols. Do u think we should reach out?* - Betty 9.09pm

*no.* - Jughead 9.10pm

*jug we cant go on like this* - Betty 9.15pm

*he disrespected us in our home betty, I wont forgive him for that, speak later* Jughead 9.16pm

He pushes open the bar doors and takes the stool closest to the toilets. Ethel is working tonight so he waves her over.

"I thought you were going to Riverdale with Betty" she says as she places a Guinness on the coaster in front of him.

"Got work tomorrow and Wednesday morning then I'm off straight after my shift" the liquid feels refreshing down his throat "hey Ethel, when we get back can you mention the pregnant clothes to Betts again please?"

"The maternity clothes? Sure, why?"

"She had a nervous breakdown when her shirt didn't fit her today, she's currently in one of my t-shirts" he smiles.

"Sure thing Jug, I got some tables to clean, back in a bit" and off Ethel goes.

He finishes his Guinness and gets another before taking a now vacant booth. 'Book and Bevvy" is a safe haven of Jugheads. Alcohol and books can't go wrong. When Ethel mentioned it when they first moved to New York, he was ecstatic. It was now his favourite place to be, besides home with Betty. He picks a novel at random off of the shelf behind him. 'Harry Potter' he smirks. He thinks about the future for a moment, he thinks about reading to his child something that he experienced at his mothers hand, where his love for books began.

He gets to page 60 when another Guinness is placed in front of him he grabs it without looking.

"Ethel, you're a gem"

"Is she now?" His head snaps up to see Sabrina hovering in front of his booth "Hey Jughead" she smiles.

"Hey" he replies and tries to return to his book.

"No Betty tonight?"

"Clearly not" he mutters back.

"Can I sit?"

"Look Sabrina I'm not really in the mood-"

"I just want to talk Jughead"

He puts his book down and takes a sip of his drink "What do you want to talk about?"

"Things" she smiles, her smile was always infectious but he finds himself scowling back "Look Jug, I've been trying to work up the courage to talk to you at work but I never can and when I saw you sitting here I thought I should bite the bullet and come over"

"We don't really have much to talk about Sabrina" he places his palms flat on the table, he's getting agitated.

She grabs his hands in hers, his face must be a picture of horror because he was not expecting it. He looks up and sees Ethel frowning in their direction before someone motions to her.

"I don't like the way we left things Jug and I have been thinking maybe we could try again?" She gives him a lopsided smile.

His hands are still in hers when his phone vibrates multiple times "Sorry" he mumbles as he removes it from his pocket.

*made it in 1 piece*

*Hugging my mum without her noticing Moonbug was harder than I thought*

*but we are safely tucked in bed and mamacoop is none the wiser. Night romeo* Betty - 11.15pm

He smiles at the screen and quickly types a reply.

*Sweet dreams to my fair juliet and moonbug* - Jughead – 11.16pm

"Betty?" She asks

"Uh yeah she was letting me know she got back to Riverdale safely" he explains

"You not going home for thanksgiving?"

"Got a couple shifts then I'm off, you?"

"Nah I'm sticking around, look Jughead, I meant what I said, I really want to give us a go and if you're not seeing anyone .."

"And what makes you think that we would work now? You didn't like being in a relationship with me then, whats going to be different now?" He questions

"I thought a lot and I know I was just really silly and impulsive" she tries to explain

"Well I'm sorry but that's not good enough Bri, I deserve someone who's not going to mess me about and if I'm honest, I don't think we would have worked anyways" he grabs her hands and looks at her dead in her eyes "Besides another has my heart now" he smiles, ready to let her know about Moonbug.

"Betty?"

"What?" He pulls his hands away.

"You know, I always felt threatened by Betty, it's so clear how she feels about you"

"Fuck off" he scoffs, taking a swig of his drink.

"You love her back Jug, it's written all over your face" her smile is small.

"Yeah she's my best friend"

"Archie is your best friend" he narrows his eyes at this

"So is Betty" he argues back.

"Your face when you got her text said it all Jug, I obviously waited too long to ask for a 2nd chance" she finishes off her beer.

"Do you really think Betty likes me?" He mumbles into his bottle

"Do you like her?"

"Yeah I do" he sighs, he feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, like he is no longer carrying the weight of the world on his back "Wow, I've been waiting to say that out loud for years" he grins at Sabrina.

"You smitten little kitten, hey wait who was you going to say has your heart now if it's not Betty?"

"You're not going to believe this" he explains his new life to Sabrina and can't help but laugh at her shocked face.

"So you're going to be a dad soon" she looks down "Are you happy?"

"So happy, we find out the sex next week" the excitement on Jugheads face contagious "Anyways I'm gonna go, I think Ethel gets off in a second and I'm going to walk her home"

"Always the gentleman Mr Jones, Friends?" She holds out her hand to him and he shakes it with a smile.

"Night Bri"

He walks Ethel home and makes his way back to the loft.

He thinks about his conversation with Sabrina. Jughead has always known how he has felt about Betty but never known what to do. He remembers once when they were nearing the end of high school and he was going to sit her down and tell her of his feelings.

He was getting ready to meet her at Pops to finalise the details of their New York move. He turns around to see his mum smiling.

"What?" He questions "Do I look okay?" He removes his beanie from his head and starts smoothing down his hair.

"You meeting Betty?"

"Yeah"

"Finally going to have that conversation with her? Tell her you like her?"

"Muuuum stop." He whines picking up his comb.

"Here let me" she takes the comb and starts styling his hair "Just tell her you love her Forsythe, plain and simple"

"Not that simple mum, what if she doesn't like me back?"

"What's not to like about you, hun?"

"Yeah whats not to like about good old Jughead" FP slurs. They look to see where Jugheads father is struggling to keep himself upright.

"Get out of here FP, the kids shouldn't have to see your drunk ass" Gladys bites

"Took your beanie off to try and impress that Cooper girl when she's never going to like you son. Girls like her don't end up with boys like you." He hiccups "So put your hat back on and put that stupid dream to bed"

Gladys slams the door in his face "Don't listen him Jughead, he's wrong"

"Hes right mum." He grabs his beanie and pulls open the door "I'm going to be late".

Jughead was never overly organised but living with Betty had made him a lot better than he was before hand. This is why he found himself packing his bag a day early so he could make his way to Riverdale straight after his shift the next day.

He looks at his phone and frowns, its 8pm and he hasn't heard anything from Betty all day, he dials her number but it goes straight to voicemail so he tries the Cooper landline.

"Cooper residence"

"Hey Polly, its Jug"

"Hey Jughead, you skipping?"

"No Pol, I'll be there tomorrow afternoon, is Betty there? My calls won't go through"

"She's had a headache so she's been in her room all day, ill go grab her" he frowns at this.

Why didn't she let him know she felt poorly? Was he too full on? Too protective? Too-

"Hello" Betty whispers

"Betts, hey are you alright?"

She sniffs "What do you want?"

"I haven't heard from you today, I was worried"

"Look Jug I'm fine, I'll see you tomorrow when you get here ok?"

His fingers tighten on his phone "Did I do something wrong Betty?"

"I don't know Jughead, have you DONE something wrong?" Her voice is slightly raised.

"Why are you yelling?" His voice as steady as he can keep it.

"I spoke to Ethel today and she said you were in the bar last night, with .." she sighs "with Sabrina"

"And?" He prompts.

"And? And? So what are you back together or what? Because Ethel said you looked pretty cosy in a booth together. Sabrina did say it was a break so that implies you getting back together eventually"

"Betty, stop and let me speak"

"Does she know about Moonbug?" She says in hushed tone.

"God yes she does but that doesn't matter because-"

"Whatever Jug" she interrupts, he can hear the tears in her voice "Just get here on time tomorrow, I don't want to keep Moonbug a secret anymore, bye"

He sits there stunned. What just happened? He types a text.

*I don't love her Betty, I love you* he looks at the message, ready to press send but changes his mind.

He wants to tell her face to face. So he will wait.

He gets off the bus and smells the good old Riverdale air.

"Home sweet home" he drawls out.

He contemplates dropping by Pops instead of going straight to the Coopers but he knows that wouldn't be a good idea considering the way he and Betty left things the night before. As he starts his short walk, he recites what he wants to say to her in his head.

'I want to be with you properly' no.

'I love you Betty, for real' no.

'Do you want to be my girlfriend?' No, no, no.

He looks up and he is outside the big red door to the Cooper house. He sees Alice through the window and taps it. He makes her jump but her face lights up in recognition.

"Jughead is here, get the door" she calls.

The door swings open and Betty is standing there, she leans forward, grabs his face in her hands and plants a soft kiss on his lips. He kisses her back. Someone wolf whistles behind them, Polly he thinks.

"Save it you love birds, mums in the next room, you'll ruin the surprise" she chuckles "Hey Jug" she waves as she walks up the stairs and out of earshot.

"Betty, what the hell was that?" Jughead seethes.


	5. Chapter 5

"Betty, what the hell was that?" Jughead seethes.

Betty's cheeks redden and she looks down, how is she going to explain her hot and cold behaviour to him.

"Betty? Whats going on? What did Polly mean?" He questions

"My pseudo son has arrived," Alice kisses him on the cheek "You can help Betty set the table, dinner in 10"

Betty grabs Jugheads hand and drags him to the dining room.

"Why did Polly call us 'lovebirds'?" He whispers as he folds a napkin.

"I may have told her we were a couple" she whispers back re-folding his badly folded napkin.

"Why? Did you tell her about Moonbug?"

"It was an accident, can we talk about this later?" She pleads.

"Fine." He slams the knives down and storms off "Hey Mrs C, something smells good"

Polly finding out really was an accident. In Betty's opinion she had been hiding her bump pretty well. She thought her bump was massive but it obviously wasn't as big as she thought, no one had noticed. The day before had started off great, she and Polly had planned to spend the day with their mother, some mother/daughter time. She was getting ready to kick start her day, her mum had giving them a hearty breakfast and she was touching up her make up, waiting for her sister to be ready when she got a text from Ethel.

*You didn't tell me Jug and Sabrina still spoke* - Ethel 11.04am

*That's cos they don't … * Betty – 11.05am

*Oh well maybe he didn't mention it but he came by the bar last night and they were chatting* - Ethel 11.07am

*Did you hear what they were saying?* - Betty 11.08am

*Nah but they looked pretty cosy* - Ethel 11.10am

She places her phone down, hands shacking. Was Jughead talking to Sabrina again and not telling her? Things had been going right between her and Jughead, other then some little quarrels here and there, mainly because of Bettys hormones.

She felt dizzy. Why didn't Jughead tell her about Sabrina? Did he tell Sabrina about Moonbug? Did they get back together? What if Sabrina started coming between them and he decides to not be apart of Moonbugs life. All sorts of thoughts and questions start running through Betty's head. They were giving her a headache.

She looks up from where she is sitting on her bed to see her mum watching her.

"Everything ok Betty?"

"I've got a really bad migraine mum, would you be sad if we postponed today?"

"Oh don't be silly Elizabeth, you're here till the end of the week, we have plenty of time to spend together, get in bed and ill bring you up some tea" she hurries out of the room leaving Betty with her thoughts again. She turns her phone off so she's not tempted to confront Jughead, she doesn't want any arguing before they tell her family about the baby. She settles down for a nap but in true Betty nature she wakes up a lot later than anticipated.

She glances at her phone, deciding to leave it off when there's a knock at her door.

"Betty, phone for you" Polly calls.

The phone call with Jughead doesn't go the way she wants it to. She didn't want to end up in tears but she does. Crying over a man she clearly will never have. She cradles her bump and sighs.

"Maybe it will be just you and me, Moonbug" she mutters

"Who's Moonbug?" Polly asks as she throws herself on her bed.

"Oh nobody, my imaginary friend" she nervously chuckles "I think I might go for a shower"

"You're a poor liar Betty Cooper" Polly smiles "You never lie to me Betty, what's going on?"

"God nothing Polly, not everything needs to be public knowledge" she grabs her towel and heads out of her room. She spends a good 20 minutes in the shower trying to wash her worries away but when she returns to her room Polly is still there.

"I'm not the public Betty, I'm your sister"

"I know I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me?" She pouts

"Well when you're ready to talk, I'll be ready to listen" she opens her arms and without thinking, Betty steps into her sisters embrace. Almost immediately she knows that the hug wasn't a good idea.

"Betty?" She lets her go.

"Hmm?" Not looking Polly in the eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL?" She shouts

"Polly please don't yell, mum might hear"

"I can't believe this, are you pregnant?" she laughs "Oh my gosh, who the dad?"

Betty's mind is running 40mph, she really has had enough of lying, so she decides to tell her sister the truth.

"There was a lot of alcohol involved but one night-"

"You had a one night stand and got pregnant?" She hisses

"Well no but-"

"Oh my gosh Betty, whats mum going to say?" Polly mocks.

"It's my baby, not mums so it doesn't matter what she says"

"You had a drunken night and ended up pregnant by a random, she will have a lot to say"

"Who says he's a random?" She barks, Polly's eyes widen at this.

"Do you have a secret boyfriend? Is he the father?"

She doesn't know what to say so she lies "Jughead"

"JUGHEAD?!"

"Shit Polly, don't be so loud, yes Jug is the dad and we are a couple having a baby." She knows she should have told the truth, lying wasn't the best idea. She's not on talking terms with Jughead and for all she knows Jughead actually does have a girlfriend and it's not her.

"Why didn't you say anything to me or mum?"

"We wanted to do it together so please don't say anything".

"I've been craving your gumbo for months now Mrs C"

"You're eating like you haven't been fed in weeks Jughead" Alice beams "Betty have you not been feeding him?"

"She's been taking care of him just fine" Polly gags.

Everyone looks up at this.

"What's that meant to mean?" Alice questions.

"Nothing!" Betty spits.

"You guys should just tell her"

"Its not your business Polly" Jughead speaks, he looks to Betty who is pink in the cheeks and looks to Alice who is wide eyed and waiting "Betty and I are having a baby"

"WHAT?"

"I'm 5 months pregnant"

"5 MONTHS? WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?"

"We were waiting for the first trimester to pass" Jughead explains

"That was 2 months ago Jughead, why wasn't I told?" She slams her hand on the table.

"I needed to find the right time mum, its big news, not something you mention on the phone"

"You could have called, I wouldn't have minded"

"What would I have said? Its been hard enough trying to figure out what I'd say to your face"

"You're selfish Elizabeth, selfish."

"HOW AM I SELFISH?"

"Hey Betts, calm down please" Jughead begs

"You two aren't even a couple, how will this work?" Alice cries.

"Yes. We. Are" she looks over at Jughead who is suddenly silent.

"Well why didn't you guys tell me you were a couple?"

"Because it's our business no one else's" she rises from the table "I need some air".

She sits out on the steps for a few moments before she hears his heavy footsteps behind her.

"Its cold Betts and you need a coat"

"Jug I'm so sorry" she cries

"Hey hey, its ok." He envelops her in his arms "We are in this together" he murmurs into her hair.

They spend a while outside, so long that Polly decides to bring a blanket and flask of hot chocolate out for them, "I'm so sorry guys" her eyes begging for forgiveness.

"It's fine Poll, I'll talk to you in the morning" Betty promises, they watch Polly go back into the house.

"We need to talk Betty"

"I know" she groans.

"Ethel had no right to tell you about Sabrina, I was going to"

"I don't really care about the 2 of you" she forces out "I'm just thinking about Moonbug"

"There is no 2 of us" she looks up at this "She wanted to get back together with me and I said no."

"Oh."

"Yeah"

They're silent for while before he continues "Betty, you really anger me sometimes"

"Umm ok"

"You always think you know best, Betty's way or the highway. You're annoyingly orgnanised, from the outside looking in, yeah its great but living with you, God. Sometimes I can't take it. I don't think we need a basket for hairbrushes in the bathroom" he stops.

"Is there a point to this or are you trying to piss me off?"

"You always push my buttons and when I get angry you always act so wounded and make me want to come to your rescue, even though I'm annoyed at you." He takes a breathe before he continues "Sometimes I feel like I'm your child the way you treat me, like I know between the 2 of us that you are the most mature but I am not your child, you are not my mother" she hangs her head at this.

"I'm just trying to look after to you Jug"

"That is why I love you Betty"

Her head snaps up and they look at each for a flash.

"You're beautiful, kind, caring. Just thinking about you makes me smile. I know I sound like a cliché but you're it for me Betty. I can't do it anymore, I can't act like I don't feel the way I do anymore. Its been too long"

"How long?" Her eyes are shiny.

"A long time Betts" she looks down at her hands

"I wanna be your man"

She's laughing when he cups her chin and brings her face to his "I love you Betty Cooper"

Their lips meet briefly and she laughs "Kiss me properly" she mumbles against his lips and that's what he does. She wraps her arms around his neck and deepens their kiss. The pull apart and she eyes his face "Jughead Jones, I love you" he captures her lips again his tongue seeking entrance to tangle with hers.

"Get a room" a familiar voice shouts, they separate and see Fred Andrews climbing into his truck.

"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing" Betty hides her face in Jugheads neck.

"Hey Mr Andrews" Jughead waves.

"Make sure you kids drop by before you head home" he calls as he pulls out of his driveway, they watch his truck disappear down the road.

"What if we don't work as a couple Jug?"

"We will, I love you, you love me, nothing is going to change, except now I can share a bed with you" he pecks her lips "I'm yours, you're mine and Moonbug is ours"

For the first time, she has woken up in Jugheads arms as his GIRLFRIEND. She can hardly contain her happiness. His hands splayed across her front, holding what they created together.

"I don't want to go downstairs Juggie"

"We have to, lets just get it all out of the way and then we can have nice thanksgiving" she turns to him so they're flush against each other.

"Is it bad that I want this week to be over so we can just go home?"

He wriggles his nose in response, "Wow Betts, you need a mint"

She recoils from him "Arsehole"

"Come here" he pulls her face back to his own and plants a wet kiss her lips "Lets go Juliet".

To say thanksgiving morning was awkward would be an understatement. Breakfast preparations were done in silence no one wanting to be the first one to say something. Jughead decided enough was enough, Moonbug wasn't going to born into a fighting family.

"So are you going to be Grandma or Nanny?" He asks Alice

"Nana please" she smirks "I am definitely not a Grandma"

"No you are not" Polly agrees as she grabs a pancake.

Betty looks at Jughead with gratitude written all over her face "Nana Cooper sounds great mum" Betty adds.

They spend the morning preparing for the big family meal but also talking about the new addition to the family. For once, there are no secrets between her and her family, just excitement and happiness.

"So what did your mum say about being a Grandma?" Quizzes Alice as she mashes the potatoes. Betty looks to Jughead for his reply but it doesn't come.

"Jug?" She pushes.

"Well I'm sure if she knew, she would be happy I guess" he replies under his breath.

"You said she knew"

"Well I was going to tell her"

"So why didn't you?"

"We haven't been speaking a lot recently"

"Guys can you do this later?" They both look to Alice who is clearly trying to mediate but Betty ignores her wishes.

"Jug you need to talk to your family, we said we didn't want Moonbug born in a toxic environment" she places her hand on his cheek "Please?"

"No Betty, I'm sorry but I don't want the baby to feel how I felt growing up with my dad"

"Okay I understand that Jug but what about your mum and Jellybean?"

"Wherever she is, he is. Look can I think about this?"

"Sure Romeo" she pats his chest and gets back to her potato salad.

"You guys are the cutest" Alice beams.

"Muuuuuum"

The rest of the day passes without hitch. Betty waits in bed for Jughead when her phone vibrates.

*Look out your window* - Veronica 11.23pm

So she does and she sees a waving Veronica from Archies window, she waves back then heads back to bed.

*Did you have a good day* - Betty 11.25pm

*Lovely one, u?* - Veronica 11.26pm

*The best day v* - Betty 11.28pm

*u and juggie ok?* - Veronica 11.30pm

*more than ok* - Betty 11.31pm

*moonbug?* - Veronica 11.32pm

*perfect* - Betty 11.32pm

*Pops tomorrow? Get these boys talking again, I know arch wants to apologise* - Veronica 11.34pm

*Sure thing, 4ish at pops?* - Betty 11.35pm

*See u then* - Veronica 11.36pm

She puts her phone on charge just as Jughead climbs into bed. She lies with her back against his front as his fingers dance underneath her nightshirt and he kisses her neck, she feels a flutter inside her.

"Oh wow" she jumps.

"What? Are you ok?" He sits up, panic written all over his face.

"Jug its ok" she grabs his hand and places it on her growing stomach as Moonbug moves inside her again.

"Oh my god" the smile he wears is the biggest she's ever seen.

"I love you Juggie" she laughs.

"I love you too Betts" he leans forward and kisses her bump "You too Moonbug".


	6. Chapter 6

"So you felt the baby kick last night?" Alice hands Jughead a mug of coffee.

"Mmmhmm, it was the best feeling Mrs C"

"I bet it was hun" she takes a sip of her own coffee "So have you thought about what Betty was saying yesterday? About talking to your family?"

"No not really" he mumbes.

"Well you go home on Sunday, not much time left Jughead, why don't you go tomorrow when I'm out with Betty and Polly?" She pats him on him shoulder as she exits the room "Give your mum a call Jug"

He sighs and pulls out his phone. She's right obviously, so he dials his mums number and waits for an answer.

"Hello?" Gladys greets.

"Hey mum, it's Jughead"

"Forsythe, sweetheart, how are you?" As soon as they get talking Jughead feels more comfortable. He doesn't know what he was so nervous about. They talk about everything, from his mum going back to get her GED, to his sister deciding she really hates being called 'Jellybean'. They stay away from anything remotely connected to his dad and end up talking on the phone for nearly an hour before Betty pops her head in the room.

"Hey Jug, fancy going-" she stops in her tracks when she sees him laughing on the phone, she plonks herself down next to him and waits for him to finish.

"Anyways mum" her eyes enlarge at recognition "I'm actually in town with Betty at the moment, yeah I'm staying at The Coopers. I was wondering if I could come round tomorrow. Yeah okay, Perfect, see you then mum"

He hangs up and looks over at Betty next to him who is smiling so widely it's contagious.

"So that was your mum" she states

"Have your detective skills always been this good Ms Cooper?"

"Fuck off Jug, what did she say?"

"You know all this swearing is going to have to stop when Moonbug is here, you're a potty mouth" she punches his arm "I'm going for dinner tomorrow"

"Would you like me to come with you?"

"Only if you want to"

"I want to" she leans over and he meets her halfway for a kiss, she groans when he deepens it.

"Making out on the couch, how juvenile" Polly scoffs "You know, you have a room upstairs Betty"

"Well aware Pol" she replies as her cheeks adopt a red glow

"Anyways what are my favourite people up to today?"

"Chilling I guess, should we all see a movie or something?" Jughead asks.

"Um Jug, I was wondering if we could go to pops today, just me and you"

"Are you asking me out on a date Juliet?" Jughead smirks

"Maybe" she pecks his cheek "Is that a yes, Romeo?"

"It's a hell-"

"You guys are so annoying" Polly moans

"Hey Pol?" Jug chuckles "I'm going to make out with your sister now"

Polly groans as she strolls out of the room, leaving Betty and Jughead in stitches.

Betty knew she shouldn't have implied that their trip to Pops was a date, she didn't want to let Jughead down. He wasn't someone who enjoyed being left out of the loop or someone who liked surprises but she knew that if she mentioned Veronica and Archie's attendance Jughead wouldn't go.

Since the incident at the loft the month before Jughead and Archie hadn't said a word to each other. She hadn't spoken to Archie either but according to Veronica he was 'super sorry'. Although she was trying patch things up with Archie, she really was still upset. He had no right to talk to her and Jughead the way he did. There were ways to tell your old friends that you weren't sure the decision they were making was the best one. But saying that, everyone always said that Betty was too nice, too forgiving, too friendly. Maybe she was, maybe she didn't want the same for Moonbug. Maybe it would be a good thing if Moonbug was half her and half Jughead. She feels Moonbug move inside her again.

How is this her life? She smirks at herself in the mirror. Her life is perfect. She has the best mum and sister, the best friends in Veronica, Ethel and Kevin, even Archie. She has the best boyfriend and even though their official relationship is new, she knows they are going to work, that they are going to be great together and raise the most perfect child together.

She puts on her jeans and sweater, pulls her hair into a pony, grabs her purse and makes her way to the door. Jughead is waiting for her there dressed casually in a pair of dark washed out jeans and a jumper. They step into the cold and Betty instantly regrets agreeing to walk, Jughead had asked to borrow the family car but Betty thought fresh air would be nice, she was wrong.

They see the sign while they are still a few minutes away but it makes Betty smile "I can't wait for a strawberry milkshake"

"I can't wait for a vanilla milkshake, 2 burgers, fries and a slice of cherry pie" Jughead snorts, he grabs her hand and they saunter through the glass doors of their favourite childhood hang out. As they sit down in the worn booth that used to be theirs, Betty peeks at Jughead, he's looking at the menu although he already knows what he's going to order. He is so handsome, she's always known this but just looking at him under the florescent lights knowing that she has a baby inside her that is half him makes her realise just how handsome he is. At that moment, she wants Moonbug to be a boy. A handsome little boy that looks just like his dad, blue eyes, soft dark waves. She wants to have a son, a mini Jughead.

"Well look who it is"

"Hey Pops, how are you?" Betty smiles

"Always good when I see a couple familiar faces, you guys want your usual?"

"Yes please and a slice of whatever pie you got there on the counter too please Pop" Jughead hands the menu back to Pop "Betty you want pie too?"

She looks at her watch before nodding her head "3 slices please". Pop jots down their orders and returns to the counter. They talk about nothing in particular while they wait for their food. She wonders whether or not she should mention her newfound hope for a son but decides not to. There's no point in airing hopes when she knows that in a matter of days she will actually find out the sex. She's bought up Moonbug's sex many times to Jughead but he always claims to have no preference, he just wants a healthy baby and Betty does too but now all she can imagine is a baby boy Jones and its melting her heart.

Their milkshakes are placed in front of them and Jughead takes a loud slurp and sighs "Being on a date in Pops makes me feel like I'm 17 again" he takes another long slurp "I love these shakes"

She knows herself that nothing beats a good old shake from Pops but her smile falls from her face when he mentions the word 'date'. She didn't actually say that this was a date but she didn't tell him otherwise and she knows he will be sad when Veronica and Archie arrive but they all need to destroy the bad feelings between them.

"Hey you're quiet, dates are meant to be fun Betts" he looks up and shows her his whip cream mustache.

"You're such a dork Jughead Jones" she leans forward across the table and he stretches to meet her for a creamy kiss.

"Your dork" he mumbles on her lips.

"What did I do to deserve all my kids visiting me today?" Pops calls as the tell tale chime of the door pulls Betty and Jughead from their own universe. Betty looks up and sees Veronica and Archie saying hello to Pop, she looks back at Jughead who is now frowning at her, she can see words on the tip of his tongue just as Veronica reaches their booth.

"Hey B, Jug" Veronica waves, she nudges Jughead so he slides over to make room for her, they stay silent as Betty does the same and Archie slides in next to her.

"Happy Holidays guys" Archie smiles.

"Happy Holidays Archie, how was thanksgiving?" Betty smiles back. The conversations flows, no one touching on any sensitive subjects, they talk thanksgiving, christmas, work but the whole time Jughead stays quiet. The waiter places their order on the table "I wasn't sure what you guys wanted when we ordered so I just got some pie" She hands them a plate of pie each and looks over at Jughead who is looking out the window at some children playing in the car park.

They eat their pie in silence, Jugheads food left untouched, the earlier small talk has ended and everybody is left not knowing what to say or do until Jughead clears his throat.

"Sorry Ronnie, I need to go to the gents" he maneuvers himself around the booth but instead of heading to the toilet he heads for the counter and takes a seat on a stool.

Archie looks at Betty with an apology in his eyes "I'm really sorry Betty, for everything I said before. I don't know what I was thinking, telling you guys how to live your lives"

"I know Arch, you're forgiven" Betty grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze "I think you should maybe speak to Juggie, you really upset him" and as if his ears were burning Jughead returns to the table and reaches for his untouched plate of food.

"I've paid the bill so I'm going to grab a doggy bag for my food." Betty stands up at this "I'll see you soon Ronnie, Betts I'll be home later" he strolls back to the counter and hands his food to Pop.

Betty and Veronica share a look before she climbs out of the booth after Jughead "Jug, please don't go"

"You lied Betty, you lied to get me here"

"You wouldn't have come if I told you the real reason"

"You told me we were going on a date Betty, our first date" he looks so sad.

"Its not her fault man, we needed to talk" Archie walks up behind them trying to defuse the situation.

"And here comes Mr 'I-need-to-involve-myself-in-everything'-" Jughead sneers

"Lets just talk, let me tell you how sorry I am"

"Everything ok kids?" Pop questions as he hands Jughead his packaged food.

"Yeah Pops, sorry" she places a hand on Jugheads arm "Lets just talk for a bit, Jug" he snatches his arm away from Betty's grasp and storms back to the booth where Veronica has been patiently waiting. They all take their seats before Archie starts talking.

"Jug I'm so sorry for how I behaved back at the loft, I had no right to speak to you both that way" he waits for Jughead to respond but he doesn't "I've apologised to Betty and I know sorry doesn't always make it ok but I hope you can forgive me"

"You were rude to us in our own home and in front of our friends, you questioned our decisions like we were children. You're meant to be my brother"

"Brothers fight sometimes, Jughead"

"I know but they don't tell them that they are making a mistake when they announce that they want to do the right thing and stand by their child and it's mother"

"I'm sorry man, I mean it, I regretted it all as soon as I left but I just didn't know what to say"

"It's true Jughead, he was miserable for days after because he thought you hated him" this earns Veronica a glare from Archie but Jughead smirks.

"Brothers fight sometimes" Jughead repeats "We're not hugging" they all laugh at this.

"Sooo moving on to a more important subject … Did I see Moonbugs parents making out as we walked in here?" Veronica gives a look to the pair.

"Yes V, we're a couple" Betty smiles but the smile doesn't meet her eyes.

Veronica squeals.

The trip to Pops ends up being a fun outing but as soon as they leave for home Betty knows something is wrong. They spend the walk in silence and even when they return to their room no words have been uttered. As she changes for bed he settles in on what is now his side, she climbs in beside him and moves in to spoon him, he's tense when she presses her stomach against his back.

"I'm so sorry I let you believe we were having a date" she speaks into his top.

"I know you're sorry Betts, you're forgiven, I just really wanted us to have nice date at Pops, like we should have all those years ago" he turns around and wraps his arms around her.

"Tell me what would have happened"

"I would have come and picked you up in my dad's truck and driven us to the drive in where we would watch a film in the back with blankets and popcorn and sweets" he watches her close her eyes trying to imagine it all "Then after the film we'd drive to Pops where we'd share a Strawberry milkshake and talk until you tell me it's nearly your curfew so I'd drive you home but your parents car wouldn't have been in the driveway so you'd invite me inside" she gives him a shocked look at this and meets his playful eyes.

"What happened next?" She breathes.

"Close your eyes again" she does as he says and he kisses her eyelids before he continues "We'd go inside and you'd grab us sodas before mentioning you wanted to show me the new article idea you'd been working on for the Blue and Gold. So I would have followed you to your room where you'd tell me to make myself comfortable on your bed before you'd join me and show me your brilliant work. When you're done you'd close your laptop and put it on the ground. You'd look at me and it'd be like time stood still. We'd make out for so long that we don't realise how heated its all getting, your tops gone, mines gone and I'd unzip your skirt and leave you in panties" her breathing gets heavier as his fingers start to dance on her hip.

"And?" She questions, eyes still closed.

"Then my fingers would look for treasure" he slides his hand between her legs and feels how wet she's become "I'd feel how wet you are for me then I'd pull your soaking underwear off" she assists him by kicking off her knickers.

He presses his finger inside her and she moans loudly "Shh, be quiet Betts" he kisses her and leaves a trail of kisses along her jaw. He pushes a second finger in and it earns a gasp. He pumps in and out of her as she spreads her legs wider for him. He sucks at her throat as her hips start to move in time with his hand.

"Finish on my fingers" he whispers, she starts moaning louder and louder so he presses his lips to hers and swallow her moans.

"Jug" she whines as cums on his fingers.

He kisses her on the lips as he removes his digits from inside her.

"I love you so much Betty Cooper"

"Is that right?" She smirks as she lays on his chest.

"Hey, tell me you love me, or are you just using me for sex?"

"I love you Forsythe Pendleton Jones"

"The third" he whispers into her hair.

"You look beautiful today Juliet" he tells her as they walk up to the Jones trailer. She's wearing a grey sweater dress and tights.

"You can really see my bump in this, gosh I look massive, I'm going to look like a whale soon" she moans.

"A beautiful whale"

She slaps his arm "You ass"

They knock the trailer door and not a moment later it swings open.

"Forsythe, Betty come in" His mum greets, as he steps into what used to be his home, his sister jumps into his arms.

"Hey JB, I missed you" he hums as his arms tighten around her.

"I missed you so much Jug" she replies.

"Betty your pregnant." Gladys states and pulls her in for a hug "Congratulations sweetheart"

"Well that's why I wanted to stop by before we went back to New York, Betty and I are having a baby"

"Oh my god, that's amazing, I'm going to be a grandma" she chuckles.

"Juggie am I going to be an aunt?" Jellybean questions

"You sure are bud" Betty smiles.

"Is it a girl or boy?" She asks as she drags Betty to the sofa to sit.

"We will find out next week and I will make sure you're the first person Jughead tells."

"If it's a boy is he going to be Forsythe the Fourth?" She snorts

"Absolutely not" Jughead buts in.

"Names haven't been discussed yet" Betty playfully glares at Jughead.

They catch up over dinner and Jughead feels like he can't stop smiling.

"And she said to me that normal 16 year olds like Justin Bieber not The Beatles so I told her to fuck off and went home"

"Couldn't be more proud of you Jellybean" Jughead hi-fives her across the table as the trailer door opens and FP walks in.

"Oh we have guests, Hello" he says as he leaves his boots by the door.

"Mr Jones, nice to see you" Betty shakes his hand.

"Nice to see you too" he looks over at Jughead and nods "Son"

"Hi dad" he nods back.

"Jughead and Betty are having a baby, isn't that great dad?" Jellybean calls, FP's eyes widen at this and he smiles.

"Wow congrats kids"

"We're not kids anymore" Jughead shoots back, you can hear the people in the trailer next door singing with the silence that follows.

"Hey girls why don't we go for a walk?" Gladys asks

"You don't need to do that, we have nothing to talk about" Jughead insists.

"Jug we won't be long" she pecks his cheek, grabs her coat and walks to the door.

"Zip up your coat Betts" he calls as she closes the door and he is left with his dad.

FP grabs a drink from the fridge "Root beer?" He offers

"No thanks, got any real beer?"

"We don't keep alcohol in the trailer anymore" Jughead doesn't let the surprise show on his face "I haven't had a drink in a year"

"That's great dad" he mumbles

"Well you don't sound too happy, son"

"A year is a long time but you've tried to go sober before and it never lasts" he sits next to his dad on the sofa.

"I just want to make my family proud Jughead, I want to make you proud"

"And when I was a kid I wanted a dad that I could talk to but I didn't have one. You made me feel so little even as I grew up. I never want my child to feel that way"

"I know and I can't apologise enough"

"You haven't said sorry"

"I am sorry Jughead, I am sorry that you found yourself going to Fred Andrews instead of coming to me, I am sorry that you spend holidays at the Coopers because you don't like coming home, I'm sorry you don't speak to your mum and sister as much as you want to because you can't bare to speak to me"

"I get it dad, you're sorry"

"I'm sorry I made you feel like you weren't good enough for Betty, because she is lucky to have you"

"I'm lucky to have her you mean" he scoffs

"No, I meant what I said" he pats Jughead on the back "So you're going to be a dad yourself"

"Yeah and I'm excited but I am so scared and I don't want to worry Betty but I am scared that I'll mess up" he looks at his hands and sighs.

"Look son, its no walk in the park but you're the best man I know and you won't let your lady or your baby down, just be yourself"

"Thanks dad."

By time the girls come back, Jughead and his dad are playing a game of blackjack. Betty smiles at the sight as Jughead catches her eye and sends a wink her way.

"Home sweet home" Jughead calls as they return to the loft the next evening.

"I'm going straight to bed Juggie, that early morning got to me"

"Why did Veronica and Archie need to pick such an early time for breakfast at Fred's again?"

"They had to get back to LA for a meeting" she yawns as she pads to her room.

"But a 7am breakfast was not necessary, I do not care what anyone says" he replies as he heads into his room.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room-"

"Well I thought, well b-because we're a couple now" she looks at her feet.

"I'm just getting some shorts Betts then I'm coming to you" he chuckles.

"Oh" she turns back to her room "Well I think you should forget the shorts Mr Jones".


	7. Chapter 7

As much as she had tried to put it off, Betty knew she had to go to clothes shopping. So when Ethel offered to accompany her again she did not turn her down. She didn't want to admit it but pregnancy had changed her body. She put on a little weight, her boobs had gotten a little bigger, her nipples darker and if she stayed on her feet all day they would swell which meant the foot massages Jughead had always given her were getting more frequent.

Betty looks at herself in the changing room mirror. It was a pretty dress but she wasn't sure it suited her. It was red and strapless and it clung to her body showing off her growing bump.

"Can I come in now Betty?" Ethel calls from outside the curtains.

"Yeah sure" she allows her friend access, Ethel gives her the once over.

"I love it, you looks so good"

"Really? You don't think its too showy for a pregnant girl?" Betty questions.

"You look great Betty, Jug is going to love it." Ethel shoots Betty a reassuring smile "Now get that dress off so we can pay and get out of here, I am starving" and she does just that.

They had been in so many shops picking up different items that Betty could wear right up until she pops. So many sweaters, dresses, jeans all bought from actual maternity sections and stores. She had been stretching out her ordinary clothes and she couldn't keep stealing Jugheads t-shirts. Initially Betty was dreading the shopping trip, she wasn't sure what she was going to find. In her imagination clothes for pregnant women were just frumpy looking bits but after the first few items she had found Betty started to feel more comfortable.

They enter the little Italian restaurant and get seated straight away, Betty already knows what she is ordering because she had been craving the ravioli from here for weeks. She looks over at Ethel who is scanning the menu and she clears her throat.

"I know you're hungry but please give me more than 30 seconds to decide my meal" she chuckles.

"I'm sorry, I've been so moody since we got back from Riverdale, poor Juggie putting up with me" she pours herself a glass of water.

"I am really sorry for creating an issue with you and Jug" she places the menu back on the table before she continues "I just thought I was being helpful, I love Jug but you're my best friend and I was looking out for you"

"It's fine Ethel, I think it helped bring us together if I'm honest" she smiles to herself

"You guys are so cute, I'm so glad you are a couple now"

The waiter takes their order and it isn't long until their food arrives and they tuck in. They talk about Ethels upcoming travels and Betty can't help but wonder how different her life would be if she wasn't having Moonbug, if she was still going on the round-the-world trip.

"So where is he taking you for your date?"

"I don't know, he just told me to dress nicely" she smirks "I'm so nervous, It's our first date" she thinks about how backwards her life is, move in with the boy you love, get pregnant, become a couple and then go on a first date.

"There's no need to be nervous, you're perfect together and your date is going to be amazing"

"Yeah it is isn't it?"

He waits for her to be ready, she's usually prompt but he's been waiting for 20 minutes, so he strolls to her room door and knocks.

"Betts, we need to get moving" her door swings open and she's dressed in her sweats "Betty what's going on? We're going to be late" Her face looks just as it does when they're going out but her favourite plum lipstick is smeared across her jaw. "Are you ok?"

"I can't find anything to wear Jug, I don't want to go"

"But you said you found the perfect dress"

"I did but I look awful in it" she moans

He places his hands on her shoulders "I'm sure you look fine Betty"

"I DON'T WANT TO LOOK FINE JUGHEAD!" She yells, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Hey hey ok, I'm sorry wrong words" he wraps his arms around her "How about I cancel our reservation, you wash that stuff off of your face and I pop out and grab us some take-out?"

"Are you sure?" She murmurs into his shirt

"I'm sure, I love you, now get back inside" he kisses the top of her head and watches her close her door.

As he walks to collect their Thai food, he sighs, all he wanted to do was have a nice date with Betty but it seems the world is trying to tell him otherwise. Their pops date didn't go well and this date didn't even get started. She had been so shaken up when he knocked for her, she hadn't even noticed that he had dressed up in a suit for her. He just wanted to make her happy but he didn't know how but Veronica would. He pulls out his phone and dials her number.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Mr Jones?" She slurs

"Wow you're drunk, don't worry Ronnie" he chuckles, just his luck.

"Well you CALLED for a REASON" he holds the phone from his ear as she is speaking loudly.

"I know but it doesn't matter now" he sighs.

"Ron, who are you talking to?" He hears Archie ask in the background "Hello?"

"Archie, sorry I didn't realise she was drunk"

"She was out with some girls" he sighs "Did you need something?"

"I guess I just needed some advice" Jughead feels weird making his feelings known but Archie is more than understanding and helps Jughead figure out what to do "Thanks man, you've been a big help, good luck with Ronnie"

He gets back to the loft and he assumes Betty is still in her room as the living room is empty. He searches the cupboard under the sink and finds the tealights that he had deemed unnecessary when Betty purchased them. He places them all over the room, lights them, lays out as many blankets as he can find and sets the take out on the coffee table. He looks at himself in the hallway mirror before deciding to remove his beanie, he flattens his hair, turns out the lights and opens her room door.

"Hey I didn't hear you come back" she sends him a small smile from her bed.

"Come dinners ready" he offers her a hand and she takes it but doesn't move when he does.

"I'm so sorry for spoiling yet another date Jug, I know you went to a lot of trouble and you dressed up for me-"

"Hey, you didn't spoil our date, You didn't want to go out so I just bought the date to you" he leads her out to the living room and watches her face light up.

"Oh Juggie, its amazing" she looks around at all the candles "You're such a romantic"

"Yeah I know, I didn't ask you what you wanted so I just got all your faves" they start to eat, both starving.

"So what do you talk about on the first date with a boy you've known for years?"

"We can talk about anything you want" he grins.

"Ok" she trails off "If you were stranded on an island and could pick 3 people to be stranded with you, Famous or not, who would they be?" She looks over at him as his brow furrows as he thinks of his answer.

"Bear Grylls because he'd obviously know what he's doing, Alfred Hitchcock, I mean he's the master of suspense and one of the best. Then last but not least you because you're my number one girl"

"Good choices, you nerd."

"Ok my go, What are you most afraid of?"

"Spiders but if you're being serious then-"

"I'm being serious" he confirms

"I'm afraid that I'm not going to be a good mum, that although I have all these dreams of how my life is going to be amazing with Moonbug, that I'm going to fail"

"Betty you're going to be an amazing mum" he starts.

"Let me finish Jug" she takes a breath before she resumes "I am scared that I won't be able to cope with the stress of it all and I'm going to fall into myself. I'm scared that eventually you're going to realise that you deserve so much better than me and that you've been thrown into this life with me and you don't really want it. You just want to make me happy."

He scans her face and waits for a beat before continuing "Are you finished?"

"Yes"

He lifts her face to meet his and places a soft kiss on her lips "You have nothing to be scared of Elizabeth Cooper. Like I said, you're going to be an amazing mother and even if you get stressed and fall into yourself, I'll be there to catch you because I love you and although I would do anything to make you happy, I want to be happy too Betty and you make me happy and so does Moonbug" she exhales on his mouth.

"Do you always make your dates cry?" She sniffs as she grabs a napkin to wipe up the tears that have escaped.

"Good thing we didn't go to the restaurant, people would think we're crazy"

"I really am sorry we didn't get to go out Jug, It's just these hormones have me feeling so up and down at the moment, I just didn't feel pretty"

"Well you're always beautiful and Moonbug will hopefully favour you, looks wise anyway" he stands up and begins to blow out all the remaining lit candles "Lets go to bed, we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow"

"Are we going straight to sleep?" She innocently asks

He beats his chest like a Gorilla and lifts her up in the air, bridal style "Me Tarzan, you Jane and me wants to make love to you"

"Woah you're turning me on" she giggles.

"So everything is looking good, do you have anymore questions?" Dr McCoy asks.

"I was wondering if we could find out the sex today?" Jughead asks.

"Of course, let's have a look and see what we can see" It's silent in the room as they wait for the news "Well from what I can see here, Betty you are a carrying a healthy baby girl"

"A girl" she repeats "Juggie we're having a girl" he kisses the top of her head before helping her clean herself up.

They make their next and last appointment and step back into the cold with grins on their faces. He interlinks their fingers as set off for home. Betty is still smiling when she calls Jughead for dinner and sets the Lasagna on the table.

"Did you call Jellybean and let her know our news?" Betty asks as she pours out their lemonade.

"Yeah, her and mum were really happy, did you tell your mum and Polly?"

"Of course, I told them, V and Arch, Ethel, Kev and Joaquin-"

"So you told the world then?" He talks with a mouthful of food

"Yeah I did, we're having a daughter, Jug, I want the world to know" her eyes glisten with excitement "V said she wants to sort out a baby shower for when we go home for Christmas so that'll be nice"

"Yeah that'll be great, maybe we can rope Kevin, Joaquin and Ethel to come stay after Christmas and we could do something for new years"

"Sounds like a plan my love." They finish their meal in a comfortable silence, he clears the table and starts to wash up. "At least now we can start to get the nursey sorted. I can start moving the rest of my things into your room this week and maybe I can get the guys to help me paint my old room"

She doesn't reply straight away because she isn't sure how to broach the subject "We're staying in the loft then?"

"Where else would we be going?" He replies as he dries up his hands and moves to the sofa with a beer, she follows him and plops down by his side.

"I was thinking we could try and find somewhere more child friendly, you know with a garden and stuff?"

"With what money Betts? Have you won the lottery and not told me?" He scoffs

"No I haven't but I wanted to bring our daughter home to an actual home not an apartment that looks like 2 freshman own it"

"We graduated this year Betty, we just about have money to pay the bills and put food on the table and now we have a baby to think about, it's not practical to think about moving at a time like this"

"So you don't think I have Moonbugs best interests at heart? Is that what you're trying to say?" She argues

"No that's not what I am saying, I'm just saying we need to think practically and right now we can't move so yes I am turning my room into a nursery"

"Well I found some cheap bungalows not far from here, they'd be nice for the 3 of us" Betty whispers

"Betts we can't afford it, its going to be a struggle as it is when it's only me working for a while"

"You think you know best don't you?" She stands up and starts pacing, something she has always done when she is nervous or annoyed.

"I didn't say that. Maybe in a couple years we can talk about moving. We don't have the money and I don't want you to go through the stress of finding us somewhere and then having to move and prepare for the baby at the same time"

"Oh don't act like you care about that shit. Acting like you care about me or the baby" she sneers "You didn't even want it when I told you, you sure you want this baby?"

"Of course I do, Betty stop" he stands up to grab her hands in his own but she pulls her hands back to lay by her side.

"Maybe I should just do this on my own, I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do" there are angry tears in her eyes as she spits her hurtful comment but as soon as she says it, she wishes she could take her words back, especially because she can see the sadness in his face.

"I-I-I'm uh, I'm going to go sleep in my room" he looks like he's going to cry.

"Jughead I am so sorry" she gets up to follow him but he closes the door in her face "Please open the door, let me show you how sorry I am"

He doesn't open the door for her so she returns to her room and lays in her bed, the bed that used to be just hers but isn't anymore. She lays awake for hours unable to sleep without him by her side.

She doesn't know when she falls asleep but when she wakes up she can hear a lot of noise coming from Jugheads room. She opens the door and watches him from her doorway, he's got all his clothes in piles and he's packing up some of his books in boxes. She suddenly feels sick.

"Are you leaving me?" Her voice is raspy from lack of use.

He looks up to see her horrified face "No!"

"Then why are you packing up your things? I really am sorry Jug"

"Its fine Betty, I know you didn't mean what you said" he continues to pack his books neatly into the plastic box as she storms into the room and snatches his old copy of 'In Cold Blood' from his hands.

"Then why are you packing up your things?" She tearfully repeats.

"Clearing up my room for the nursery" he smiles at her "I won't say what you said didn't upset me Betts because it really did but I know you didn't mean it so is fine"

She put the book in the box with the rest and starts moving his clothes into the draws in her room. They spend all morning moving his belongings and by the afternoon his things make her room look like its theirs.

"Left over take out for lunch ok?" He calls from the kitchen, she agrees and makes her way to the table, she waits for him to put down her plate before she speaks.

"Thanks Jug"

"That's ok"

She looks down at her food "Thank you for everything and thank you for Moonbug, I love you so much Jughead Jones"

"Hey look at me" she glances at him but keeps her head down "Nothing will make me unlove you Betty Cooper so stop moping"

The next few days pass perfectly. They clear out his room and get him fully moved into Betty's room.

"You got everything?" He questions

"Yeah, can you grab dads present for me"

"What time is Polly grabbing you?"

"20 minutes and we should get to Dads house in a couple hours"

Every year Betty and Polly would make the trip to New Jersey to spend a few days with their dad, Hal Cooper during the holidays, a mini Christmas.

They hear Polly honk her horn, announcing her arrival and Jughead carries Betty's bags down to the car.

"Hey Pol"

"Hey Betty's baby daddy" she greets "Betts come on, we're running behind, I wanted to miss the traffic"

"I'm coming" she turns to Jughead "Ok I left some food for you in the fridge so you don't have to live off of take out for the next 3 days, I love you" she wraps her arms around his neck and gives him a passionate kiss. He deepens the kiss and they are in their own little bubble until Polly once again honks her horn "Bye" she says trying to catch her breath.

As soon as the car is out of sight he grabs his phone out of his pocket and dials Joaquin.

"Hey, she's gone, did you get the bits?" He asks

"Yeah, Kevins going to come home and we'll come straight over and get started" he replies

"Thanks so much for helping me Joaquin"

"Thank me when it's all done".

Jughead had decided to discuss his plans for hiring an artist to paint a mural on one of the nursery walls and when Kevin mentioned that Joaquin was a painter its seemed like it was fate. As soon as Kevin and Joaquin arrive they get to work.

The three days pass quicker than Jughead expects and as much as he and Kevin tried to help, Joaquin does a brilliant job all by himself, he doesn't accept money and insists that it is a baby shower gift for the pair.

Jughead can't cook very well but he knows how to make pasta and tomato sauce, so that's what he does. He grabs a scarf and places it on the counter so he can blindfold her.

"Honey we're home" she shouts.

"I have a surprise for you" he grabs the scarf and moves to tie it around her face.

"Woah can I sit down for a minute?"

"No, I am way too eager for you to see it" he grins as he leads her to his old room "Ok so I hope you like it, go ahead and take off the blindfold" she does as he says and he watches her face for her reaction.

Her face softens at the pretty mural on the wall "Jug, it's stunning". Upon the wall is a pink and orange evening sunset with a full moon in center focus 'For our Moonbug' written in the corner in elegant calligraphy.

She reaches her hand out to touch it before he stops her "Joaquin only finished this morning"

"Joaquin did this?"

"Yeah I told Kevin my plans and he let me know how talented his boyfriend is and viola"

"It's beautiful Jug, Moonbug is going to love it, just like I do" she laces their fingers together and smiles up at him.


	8. Chapter 8

Winter in Riverdale was just snow snow snow, winters were cold in New York but it didn't feel as homely. This Christmas looked set to be one of the best. Jughead and Betty had decided to take a long break in Riverdale, choosing to not return to the loft until after new years. Christmas as usual was being held at the Coopers, it was generally a small affair, Just Alice, Polly, Betty and in the last few years, Jughead but this year Alice surprised both her daughters and Jughead when she ask Jughead if his family would like to join theirs for the festivities. It took Jughead to a couple days to decide whether or not it'd be a good idea but ultimately decided that it was a nice idea to get the two families together. They also had the baby shower to look forward to, Ethel, Kevin and Joaquin were planning on coming to stay but then there were the negative sides to going back home, like the annual Christmas party at Thornhill. Jughead not only disliked parties, he hated the gathering of lots people that he didn't know, he also hated Cheryl Blossom with a passion so he was not looking forward to seeing her.

"I told you to pack the scarf and you didn't listen" he smirks as he hands over his scarf "Now I'm scarf-less and cold"

"Oh I'm sorry, are you the cold pregnant lady?" She tightens the scarf around her and grins up at him like a cheeky little child.

They traipse through Riverdale doing last minute Christmas shopping before they return home to get ready for the Christmas Eve Blossom Party. Every year they get the same invitation, always telling them that the dress code is 'Black Tie' and every year Jughead is forced into a silly suit, this year is no different. He stands in front of Betty and lets her wrap his ruby red bow tie around his neck.

"Why do I have to wear this thing? I feel like I'm being strangled" He moans as he tugs on it.

"You're wearing it because it matches my very sexy ruby red dress" she wiggles for emphasis.

"Why do we need to match? We look like one of those instagram couples?"

"Why do you look at couples on instagram?" She side eyes him.

"That's not the point Elizabeth, lets not get distracted, can I just take the tie off?"

"No" she grabs him by the jacket and brushes her lips on his "I just want everyone to know you're mine"

"They know" he presses himself against her to feel her bump.

"Betty, Jug are you ready?" They pull apart at Polly's question.

"Yeah let me just put my heels on" Betty replies.

Betty elects herself to be designated driver so that the others can drink but in the end they decide to take a taxi. As soon as they arrive Alice sets off to find people 'her own age' as she puts it, Polly is off reuniting with her friends from high school who are also in attendance. Jughead feels uneasy already but there are hours left of the party, Veronica, Archie and Fred haven't even arrived yet so he knows he needs to just get a drink and follow Betty around while she mingles. He's right by her side when she's talking to Valerie and Melody, he mutters a hello when she converses with Reggie and he's her shadow when she's crying tears of laughter with Moose but after a while he feels like he is smothering so he tiptoes off when she is gushing about Moonbug. He's 2 whiskeys down when Cheryl finds him at the bar.

"Betty was looking for you but I think she found Veronica so she got distracted" she leans against the bar "Still can't believe she's shacked up with you"

"Well believe it Cheryl, We're happy" he looks at her and he can see the sadness creeping through her mask of indifference. Her twin Jason passed away this year, bad car accident whilst he was away at college in Texas. It was sad, he had liked Jason, he got to know him a little bit when he dated Polly while they were in school.

"I give it a year, 2 top, before she realises what a bore you are Jones" her unkind comment makes him smile "What are you smiling at?"

He doesn't know why he says what he does but he feels like his mouth is moving faster than his brain "You wanna do some shots?"

"YES" she waves over the bartender and they start small, a shot of vodka each. "More" she chants as she slams the glass on the surface.

They each do three more shots of vodka before she asks if there is anything stronger "There's a dark rum?" The barman timidly offers.

"Give me the whole bottle" she orders, she grabs their two glasses from the side and instructs Jughead to follow her. They reach a door and they enter a large closet, she sits cross legged on the floor so he does the same. She takes a few swigs from the drink and passes it to him.

"I hate these parties as it is" she starts "I begged my parents to not throw it this year but they didn't listen, said they would look weak if they didn't"

"Well I hate these parties too" she chuckles at his honest input

"Why?"

"Just not my scene"

"You're a man of few words aren't you Jughead?" They're still passing the bottle between them, getting drunker as the moments go on.

"Yes, yes I am" they stay silent for a while, the party a distance away in the big house but the music still hearable. "Do you think your parents threw the party because they cared about what people thought about them or because maybe they just wanted to try and get back to their normal lives?"

She looks down at the drink in her hands, she looks like she is actually taking in his words then she starts to laugh. He looks at her, he doesn't know what to do. "Have you met my parents? They defos just care about their image" she's still laughing when she pours the last of the rum in their glasses "Thanks though Jughead"

She looks like she means it so he lifts up his glass to her before he downs the rest of the liquid.

"I know we're not friends but if you ever need a drink buddy I don't mind hanging out" he looks up at her, shock clearly written all over his face "or not" she adds.

"No no. It'd be cool"

"Cool." She stands up and brushes off her dark red ball gown "Well I was planning on getting some tonight so I need to find someone worthy"

He scoffs "Good old Cheryl's back"

"Oh behave Jones, We have the same sense of humour, yours is just a bit more morbid"

"Yeah maybe you're right"

"I'm always right" she flicks her long red hair over her shoulder and opens the door "Maybe you should go find your baby mama, she's probably worried"

His tongue feels fluffy, his head feels heavy and he has a face full of blonde hair. He groans, why did God invent alcohol? Betty turns around to face him "Morning you drunkard".

"I don't even remember coming home"

"Well it was a struggle trying to convince you to leave considering I have to beg you to attend every year" she brushes the hair from his forehead "Then you started spouting nonsense about your new best friend Cheryl. Me and V were so confused but you refused to leave until we found Cheryl so Archie grabbed her away from this guy she was all over, she sat down next to you on a wall and you guys were whispering shit for a good minute or two then you just got up and got in a taxi and she went back inside"

He chuckles at her story, remembering parts as she tells it "Me and Cheryl got to know each other a bit last night, I suppose she's not as bad as I thought she was"

"Wow, words I never thought I'd hear, come on, Moonbugs starving"

They get out of bed and sit around the table eating breakfast discussing the events of the of the night before.

"Did you see what Hermione was wearing and how she was hanging off of Fred all night?" Alice asks

"Ronnie's mum came?" He's surprised by this, Hermione Lodge very rarely returns to Riverdale, her place of birth.

"She wanted to spend Christmas with Veronica but she had already agreed to spend it at Archie's so Mr Andrews invited her, she's only here until tomorrow morning." Alice explains

"And where did you get all this information from Mum?" Betty eyes her mum over her mug of hot chocolate.

"I have my sources young lady"

After breakfast they get dressed in their Christmas themed outfits like every other year and they start to set up the house for lunch. This year everything is even more extravagant, he thinks it's down to his family coming as well. Alice Cooper is a person who is conscious of her image, the table was set with her most expensive crystal and silver, the kind that stays in the cabinet unless it's a really special occasion.

His family arrive on time and they say their hellos before they are led to the living room and offered something to drink as they wait for Alice to finish her preparations.

"Never thought I'd ever see you in a Rudolph jumper, Juggie" Jellybean laughs

"Never thought I'd see you in a dress" he quips back as he hands her a gift he bought her "It's nothing massive but Betty help me pick it" she opens the gift bag and pulls out a handbag and matching purse.

"I love it thanks guys" she hugs Jughead and then Betty.

"Hey hey am I hearing presents opening?" Alice shouts

"NO!" Jughead and Betty shout in unison.

"This is really great, thank you Alice" Gladys smiles as she tucks into her plate.

"Oh thank you Gladys, we're all family here now what with the baby on the way" Alice takes a sip of her wine.

"Not long to go now Betty, you and Jug ready?" Gladys asks

"Jug got a friend of ours to paint the nursery and he did a beautiful mural for us, I'll show you a picture after lunch but apart from that we have nothing, we wanted to wait until we found out the sex before we got clothes and then V said it was best to wait until after the baby shower to buy everything else"

"And the baby shower is on the 29th?"

"Yep I'm so excited" she grins.

"Can you believe we're going to be aunts Jellybean?" Polly squeals

"It's so crazy, I can't imagine Jug being a dad" she responds

"I can't believe I'm going to be a Grandma" adds Gladys

"More like Glam-ma" Alice jokes as the two fist bump across the table

"God, who taught you guys to fist bump?" Jughead moans and the whole table erupt into laughter.

They finish their meal and try to eat dessert, they pull Christmas crackers, put their paper crowns on and tell the rubbish jokes.

"Any baby name ideas yet?" Gladys asks as she pours herself another glass wine.

"Forsythe Pendleton the Fourth" Jellybean starts to chant

"Definitely not" Alice scoffs

Everyone looks over at Alice.

"What's wrong with that? It's a good solid name" FP argues.

"Well I think it's safe to say that both your children hated it so much that they decided to go by Jughead and Jellybea-"

"Mum" Betty warns

"It's fine Betty" FP insists "Well I'm sure whatever name they pick will be beautiful, you guys are going to be great parents"

"Like your judgement on good parenting is something to go by" Alice mutters.

"MUM" Betty shouts

"Just say what you have to say Alice, I've seen the words on the tip of your tongue all day" FP sighs as he places his water on the table.

Alice moves to pour another glass of wine "I think that's enough mum" Polly whispers as she grabs the bottle.

"Well I think it's lovely that Jughead and you are patching up your non-existent relationship but surely no one wants to hear what you THINK"

"Why can't I tell my son what I think?"

"Your son today, your verbal punching bag tomorrow"

"It's not like that anymore"

"He's a man now, you missed all the years he needed you" Alice cries "This kind and selfless boy that my daughter bought home over and over again is a man now and it's hard to believe that he came from the loins of such a pig of a man"

"MOTHER" Betty jumps up at this but Jughead grabs her arm.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry but Jughead deserves the world and more. Not a part time dad" she looks over at Jughead who is playing with Betty's fingers "Jughead is going to be a great dad and it's not because he learnt from you, it's because he's a good man" she sniffs and retires to her room.

"I'll go sort her out" Polly calls as she follows her up the stairs.

"FP, I'm really sorry for my mums behaviour" Betty apologises.

"Don't say you're sorry, she was right, I will be a good dad and its not because of him" It's the first time Jughead speaks "You were a shit dad but we need to get past it now, I can't carry around any hate for you when I need to focus on loving Moonbug, Alice was just trying to say that but I guess it came out wrong"

"I understand Jughead, she cares about you, she didn't mean to be horrible" FP squeezes his shoulder.

"Well I think we should say our goodbyes now" Jellybean says as she gathers her things.

"I had a lovely day, please let Alice know that I am grateful and hope there are no hard feelings" Gladys smiles as she hugs Betty and Jughead, although the smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"Mum fell asleep, she's going to have one horrible hangover tomorrow" Betty murmurs as she sits by Jughead.

"Today needed to happen, just could have picked a better day for it to happen on, we should have had a Christmas day trial run" she laughs at his reply.

"Can we do presents now?" She asks

"Sure, what you got me?"

She struggles to stand for a second before she returns with a box "It's nothing big because I figured I'm giving you a child in a few months and those last for life so that should be enough"

He unwraps his gift to find a smooth leather black book with gold lettering in the corner 'JJ'.

"You need to start writing again, Juggie, that's your dream and I know you're taking time away from achieving your dreams because you want to be there for us but you can't forget them so use this book, please"

He pulls her face to his and gives her a sweet wet kiss "Thank you" he whispers "Ok here is your gift" he hands her a small wrapped box.

"Jug, this better not be expensive"

"Just open it woman"

She unwraps her present and opens the box to find a necklace, a pearl necklace surrounded by diamonds.

"Oh Juggie" she breathes.

"I really didn't know what to get you and because of all this Moonbug stuff I wanted your gift to be special, so I called Ronnie and ran the idea past her and she agreed, so here it is. It's a 'Luna Pearl Diamond Necklace' and I thought it was different and the fact that it was a Luna pearl and Luna being Latin for moon, it just seemed perfect"

"Luna Pearl Necklace, I love it" she lifts it out of the box and hands it to him to place around her neck "Thank you, my love"

As they're getting ready for bed Betty gets a phone call and all Jughead hears is squealing, after 2 minutes of shock and excitement also from Betty she hangs up and crawls into bed with him.

"Archie proposed today" she speaks

"About time"

"She said the diamond 'isn't the biggest she's seen but it'll do' I swear V cracks me up"

"I'm happy for them"

"Hmm me too" she sighs into her pillow.

"Do you want to get married?"

"This better not be you asking me Forsythe" She's wide awake now.

"God no Betts, I'd do it properly, I just want to know if it's something you'd want one day, you know"

"I want to be your wife, I want us to be 'the Jones family' one day."

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones, Elizabeth Jones and Moon-"

"Luna Pearl Jones" she finishes.

He doesn't reply to her straight away so she thinks he doesn't like it.

"Luna Pearl Jones and where did you get that from may I ask?" He grins, not even sure that she can see his smile in the darkness.

"When you said it, when you explained the necklace, she moved, she wants that name Jug and it's perfect. We can still call her Moonbug, don't you think it's perfect Juggie?"

"Take a breath Betts, I love it" he slides down the bed so he is level with her stomach, level with his child, he lifts her nightshirt and places his lips on her bump "Luna Pearl Jones" and when he feels the movement, he knows they really have found her name.

"She loves it already" she pulls him up to meet her lips.

"Yes she does".


	9. Chapter 9

There was still so much to do and yet so little time, planning a baby shower was more stressful than Betty had wanted. She thought having Jughead involved, doing it at home and including her family in the planning would lighten the load but she was wrong. This was harder than planning her sweet sixteen, which was the last party she had planned.

"So we just tie these ribbons on the balloons and let them hang from the ceiling?" Ethel asks.

"Yep and then when me and jug say so, everyone will grab a toothpick and pop their balloon and coloured confetti will fall out" Betty replies.

"Either blue or pink" adds Polly as she lets a helium filled balloon hit the ceiling of the neutrally decorated room.

Betty had decided to do a gender reveal at the baby shower so her family and friends would stop bugging her but for a while she couldn't decide what way she wanted to reveal their big news. The balloon idea had been Jugheads and although a messy one as Alice had put it, it was going to be fun and remembered which is what Betty had wanted.

"Why are the cupcakes still in the container and not on the table?" Betty growls "The banner is not hung equal on both sides?"

"Hey B, calm down, we'll get it sorted" Veronica smiles

"There isn't time to be calm, the invite said 2pm and its 1.50pm and there's still so much to do. Jug and Arch haven't even got back with the cake, why does it take two men to collect a cake?"

"B, it's fine we'll get it all done, Jug doesn't want you to get stressed so please calm down" she asks Betty to sit down just as Jughead and Archie return with the cake.

As their guests start to arrive Jughead pulls Betty aside "You look beautiful today"

"I'm just wearing a simple dress Jug" she looks down at the long sleeved, figure hugging, peach midi dress she had picked out.

"The dress looks nice Betts but I said you look beautiful, you're glowing today"

She wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his "You taste like vanilla frosting" she smiles as her tongue pokes out to lick his lips "God I can't wait for that cake later"

"You dork, just remember today is about you and Moonbug"

"Yes".

After everyone arrives, Veronica and Polly go around, one with a bowl of blue ribbons and one with pink.

"Right guys" Veronica starts "Thanks for coming to Betty's Baby shower as you can see it's a gender neutral shower and B and Jug will reveal Moonbug's sex later on."

"So because only Jug and Betty know the baby's sex, we decided to do a nice activity where we can see what everyone else thinks the baby is going to be. So I have the blue ribbons and V has pink, if you think it's a girl you take the pink ribbon and tie it into your hair as Veronica is now demonstrating" Everybody looks to Veronica who is tying her ribbon "And if you think it a boy you tie your blue ribbon like it is a bow tie, like Kevin over here will demonstrate" everyone watches Kevin tie his blue ribbon around his neck.

The party is in full swing, everyone wearing their ribbons. Lots of games have been played already but the next game is one of Betty's favourites.

"This next game is for mummy and daddy and its called 'Feed the parents' So B and Jug can you get up here please" Veronica sets them in seats and hands them a plastic poncho each "These are to protect your clothes and then we are going to blindfold the pair and feed them baby foods and let them guess what is in them"

Veronica grabs the bowls and spoons and gives them both a mouthful of the first food "B?"

"Wow its nicer than I thought it would be, It tastes like peas so I'll say like a baby mushy peas" Betty answers.

"Definitely peas" Jughead agrees "But it tastes a little sweet so maybe there's some fruit in there too, Apple or Pear?"

"How did you know? That was Peas and Pears, so one point to Jug" Veronica picks up the next bowl "Here is the next one" she feeds them both and waits for their decisions.

"That's chocolate pudding" Betty states

"But I taste banana too" Jughead continues

"Jug, you are super weird, its banana and chocolate pudding" Veronica laughs, they do a few more rounds and Jughead wins them all, everyone asking him how he can pick out all the major ingredients.

"It's a gift, plus I like to eat" he declares.

They all gather round in a makeshift circle so that Betty can open some of the gifts people have got her and Moonbug. One of her favourites is a gift from Jughead's mum, she lifts the little knitted beanie out of the tissue paper.

"Oh Mrs Jones, its lovely" Betty coos.

"Well we ordered the crib to be delivered to your apartment back in New York but I didn't want to come empty handed" Gladys explains

"It's great mum" Jughead smiles. They open some more gifts but don't open them all as there are so many.

"Time for another activity" Polly calls "There are some permanent, baby friendly markers on the table and there are some containers here at the front with some different sized diapers. Use your markers to write silly, funny and motivational words to our favourite parents to be, like I did here" she lifts up a diaper that says 'Jug you change the shit this time'.

"Charming Pol, thanks" Jughead smiles.

They all spend a good half an hour, smiling and laughing as they all fill the diapers with funny messages.

"Okay guys I'd like to thank you all for coming and spending the day with Juggie and I, I'd like to thank my mum for being so supportive. I'd like to thank my amazing sister Polly and pseudo sister Veronica for putting this shower together, I would have gone crazy if I had to do it all on my own. I also want to shout out my amazing best friends Archie, love you and Ethel, Kevin and Joaquin, you guys are simply the best, thank you so much for coming out here" she looks over at Jughead next to her before she continues "and thank you to my love Juggie, I can't wait to meet our Moonbug" Jughead slings his arms over her shoulders.

"Well enough of that soppy stuff" Archie shouts "Time for the gender reveal, the only reason I actually attended today" that earns him a slap from Veronica as they hand everybody a black balloon and a toothpick.

"Okay guys so this is only thing I was allowed to do and I'm taking all he credit for this idea" Jughead explains "On the count of three, pop your balloon to find out what we're having"

"3,2,1" they all shout as they all burst their balloons and pink confetti falls all around them. Everyone starts cheering and giving their congratulations.

"So I'm going to be an aunt" Archie whispers

"What?" Veronica asks

"I'm going to be an aunt" he repeats a little louder as Veronica's starts laughing.

"I must be hearing things" Joaquin chuckles "Did you say you're going to be an aunt?"

"Yes?" Archie starts going red, still not knowing what he has said wrong.

"If Betty and Jughead weren't saying their goodbyes to everyone I would drag them over here" Ethel cackles.

"Fuck that, I'm getting Jug" Kevin adds before he drags Jughead over "Archie over here just wanted to let you know that he is so excited to be an AUNT to your DAUGHTER" they all start laughing again, this time Jughead joining in as Archie finally realises his mistake.

"You guys are so annoying" he mutters "You knew what I meant"

"Yeah bro, you can't wait to be an Aunt, I got you" Jughead smiles.

"So when are the boys getting here?" Betty asks sipping her orange juice.

"I texted Kevin, he said the boys only got back home half and hour ago" Ethel replies.

"And why aren't V and Kevin here anyways? Did he say?"

"He just said they took a detour" Ethel shrugs and starts on her second cocktail.

The group had decided to go to a quiet karaoke bar in Greendale to bring in the new year. It had been Kevin and Veronicas idea and in the beginning Jughead had flat out refused to go but only agreed to go after some cheeky convincing by Betty. They had planned really nice days which had been Betty's idea as she wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed the rest of their time in Riverdale before returning home in the next couple days. Jughead, Archie, Joaquin, Fred and FP had gone paintballing minus Kevin who said that the game was too violent for him so he had joined Veronica, Betty, Ethel, Polly, Alice, Gladys and Jellybean on their girls spa day.

"Hello, sorry we're late" Veronica calls as she struts in, Kevin trailing behind her.

"Did you purposely make yourself fashionably late, V?" Betty laughs

"Maybe" she smirks.

Ethel is on her fourth cocktail by the time the boys arrive "What time do you call this?" She slurs

"God, it's like Ethel has never tasted alcohol before" Jughead comments as he kisses Betty's forehead "And you need to slow down too Betts, don't want to be looking after you tonight"

"Shut up Juggie"

"Can we kareeeokeeeeee now?" Ethel moans

"Can I get 5 beers please?" Joaquin orders "Boys get a beer"

"You just ordered 5 though?" Archie points out

"Yeah they're just for me, need to get on Ethel's level ASAP"

"YESSSSSSSS SIR" Ethel cheers.

 _"You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen_  
 _Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine_  
 _You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life_  
 _See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen"_ sings Ethel and Kevin.

"Someone needs to grab Ethel down off of that stage" snickers Veronica "If I hear another ABBA song I'm gonna scream" she jumps up and takes a microphone.

 _"Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,_  
 _So tell me what you want, what you really really want,_  
 _I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,_  
 _So tell me what you want, what you really really want,_  
 _I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha"_

They go through the cliché karaoke songs, 'I will survive' sang beautifully by Kevin, a funny rendition of 'Islands in the stream' by Veronica and Archie, a hilarious stage production of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Ethel, Joaquin, Veronica and Betty and it's all watched by Jughead.

"Please sing a song Juggie" Betty begs.

"Nope"

"Just one, the boys really want to do one with you guys all together"

"Nope"

"Fine, you can watch us all do one and feel jealous" she hops out of the booth and joins the rest of the group on stage, they huddle for a moment before Veronica changes the song choice and they all stand waiting with grins on their faces.

 _"Together, together, together everyone_  
 _Together, together, come on, let's have some fun_  
 _Together, we're there for each other every time_  
 _Together, together come on, let's do this right"_

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL? ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" Jughead shouts over the music. Although it was clearly meant to be a group number, Archie is taking center stage and showing off his dance moves.

 _"We're all in this together_  
 _Once we know, that we are_  
 _We're all stars_  
 _And we see that_  
 _We're all in this together_  
 _And it shows, when we stand_  
 _Hand in hand_  
 _Make our dreams come true"_

"If that didn't convince you to take the stage then I don't know what will" announces an out of breath Kevin as he sips his martini "Just one song Jug, if you say yes I won't come and annoy you at work for a whole day" he pouts

"Make it a week"

"A week is a long time but ok"

"Ok" Jughead sighs

"Wait what?"

"I said ok, one song, one week of no Kevin"

"GUYS HE SAID FUCKIN YES! WHOS THE MAN? KEVIN IS!" They all start cheering Kevin's name as Jughead rises from his seat and heads straight to pick a song.

The girls take their seats as the boys start singing Jugheads song choice.

 _"We're half way there_  
 _Livin' on a prayer_  
 _Take my hand and we'll make it_  
 _I swear, livin' on a prayer"_

"Guys it's nearly midnight" the bartender shouts, the music gets turned off and they turn the TV on maximum volume to watch the New York countdown.

Ethel gets off her chair and heads for the bar.

"Hey Ethel, where you going?" Betty enquires

"10,9,8..."

"You guys are all coupled up, I'm looking for that Reggie bartender from earlier, he owes me a kiss"

"3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEAR"

"Happy new year Jug" Betty whispers

"Happy new year Betty" he replies as he cups her chin and pulls her face to his, their lips moving in sync much like all the couples around them, all in their own worlds.

"Come on Reggie, the girlfriend doesn't need to know, just one new years kiss" They hear Ethel shout as they pull apart.

"That's our cue to leave I think guys" Betty tells everyone as Veronica chases after Ethel.

They burst through the Coopers front door, Jughead and Ethel falling all over the place. Joaquin and Kevin were staying at the Andrews while Ethel was staying at Betty's childhood home.

Ethel crawls up the stairs, with Jughead close behind.

"They clearly enjoyed themselves" Alice smirks " I just made myself a hot chocolate, want one before you go sort them out?"

"Yes please, Happy new year mum"

"Happy new year sweetheart" she places the mug in front of her "You've got one hell of a year ahead of you hun"

"I know, I am so excited" she looks into her drink "I can't wait to meet her mum, I love her so much already"

"I know the feeling, I'm so happy for you and Jughead"

"I don't think I have ever been happier, This last year has been the best, graduating, Moonbug and Juggie"

"You make a lovely couple, took you guys long enough"

"I know, I love him so much" she feels weird talking to her mum with such a detailed description of her feelings "I feel like I can't breathe without him and it's only been a few months"

"That's the feeling of true love Elizabeth" her mum smiles "It's the best-"

"BETTS, ETHEL HAS PUKED IN THE SINK AND I CAN'T LOOK OR I'M GOING TO PUKE TOO" Jughead shouts.

"Duty calls, thanks mum"

They curl up in bed after Betty cleans Ethel up. She stares into his eyes as he moves in to kiss her. His hands reach below them and removes her night dress. He licks in between her breasts and her body arches in anticipation of his destination but he waits, knowing what he's doing to her.

"Tell me what you want Elizabeth"

"I'm so horny Jug, I want you to lick my pussy" she begs as his mouth meets her core.

He licks and sucks her until she's throbbing on his tongue, he climbs back up her body, she's still shaking after her orgasm. He presses his wet lips to hers as her hands move to pull down his bottoms.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a handjob" she states as if it's obvious.

"I don't want one, I just wanted to do something for you"

"Well thank you"

"I overheard you talking to your mum earlier" he brushes her hair out of her face as her cheeks adopt a familiar red glow "Don't be embarrassed Betts, I just wanted to say that I feel the same way about you. I want you to feel that way about me, I want your body to feel on fire when I'm around you. We are all born to find love, to find a soulmate and I have found mine. I love you like the moon loves the night sky Betty Cooper, Happy new year baby"

She wipes away her tears "Happy new year baby, I lo-" they both jump at a bang on the wall that they share with the guest room, the room that currently inhabits a very drunk Ethel.

"IF YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO FUCK ALL NIGHT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW CAUSE I'D RATHER SLEEP IN THE TRASHCAN OUTSIDE WITH THE RACOONS THAN HEAR IT" she shouts.

"Sorry Ethel, we're done now" Jughead snorts as Betty hides her face in Jugheads shoulder.

"FUCKING RABBITS, NIGHT"

"Night" they reply, giggling silently.


	10. Chapter 10

As usual, the month of January moved at a snails pace. Betty decided to use the month to organise herself. Her and Jughead took parenting classes that Dr McCoy had recommended, they had spent the month reading countless parenting books. Betty was pretty impressed with Jugheads dedication, she knew he was taking his role seriously, he wanted to be a good dad. They had prepared Betty a birth plan and started to pack Betty's hospital bag.

When February came, they decided that they had to focus on things they needed for the baby. The lack of clothes they had bought for the baby was starting to worry her. They had a few bits but not enough and the longer she left it the more stressed she was getting, there just wasn't enough time. They had received so many gifts from friends and family that they really didn't have to buy as much as they thought they'd have to. They had got the beautiful mahogany crib and changing table set from Jugheads family. Alice had bought them a matching rocking chair and a stroller but her favourite was the gift from Veronica and Archie, they had got them the most precious navy blue pram, with large wheels that looked like it was straight out of the Victorian times, Jughead thought it was the most unnecessary gift but Betty didn't care, she knew she'd be putting Moonbug in it and taking many walks.

"Sounds like it's going to be amazing V, when's your flight?" She balances her phone between her shoulder and ear as she rips open a bag of cheetos.

"We're on our way to the airport now, I can't believe he planned this trip in secret, I've been dreaming of Paris holiday for so long but Paris for Valentines day is _everything!"_ Veronica gushes "What do you and Jug have planned?"

"Nothing I guess, he hasn't mentioned anything, so take out and a movie probably" she shrugs, not that Veronica can see her.

"Unacceptable, this is your first valentines as a couple"

"I know V but we have so much to do, I doubt he's even thought about it, I honestly don't mind" but she did mind, a little bit, what she's saying is true, they are both so busy and Moonbug will be with them in the next 4 weeks, there is no time to make extravagant Valentines day plans.

"Well I hope he's got something planned, I don't want to have to call some people to ruff him up a bit"

"Ruff him up?" Betty chuckles "Who would you get to ruff him up?"

"Maybe Joaquin or even Ethel, I'm convinced she can pack a punch" they both laugh at this "Anyways I want to call my mum before the flight so I'll talk to you later"

"Have a safe flight and text me when you land" they say their goodbyes and Betty is left in silence, she reaches back into her bag of chips just a the front door opens, she closes the packet and shoves a cushion over it.

"Too slow, I saw you" Jughead smirks.

"Darn you and your perfect vision" she waddles over to him and gives him a warm kiss.

He licks her lips and then his own "Flaming hot? Don't complain when you get heartburn"

"I was hungry" she pouts

"I left you a fruit salad in the fridge"

"Ate it for breakfast"

"But I made you breakfast" he points out

"Yeah and I was hungry straight after and before you say anything, I also ate the carrot sticks and your popsicles"

"You ate my popsicles?" He moans "You don't even like them"

"Well I was hot, did you speak to V or Arch?"

"Yep, lucky bastards, I'm going to hop into the shower then we can sort the nursery AGAIN"

"The feng shui was all wrong Jug, it's not my fault"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT FENG SHUI IS YOU DORK!" He calls from the bathroom.

"Whatever" she mumbles as she removes her Cheetos from their hiding place.

Not long after Jughead is out of the shower and attempting to rearrange the nursery "Move it to the left" she instructs

"No, it looks fine where it is Betts" Jughead sighs

"Well I disagree, now move it or I will"

"Fine" he huffs as he drags the crib more to the left of the window "Is this ok?"

"It look's perfect Jug" she steps back to the doorway to get a better view of the whole nursery.

"Right well can you check the feng shui please because I am not doing this shit again Betty"

She wraps her arms around him "I thought I was meant to be the moody one"

"Sorry, I love you"

"I know" she unwinds herself from him and strolls into their room "So I'm going shopping tomorrow with Kevin to get some more baby bits"

"More?"

"She needs more clothes, Jug"

"Ok, I took a shift on Thursday by the way" he picks up a little pink hat and smiles at it "I'll bring home something for dinner"

"You've worked all week though" she huffs

"Don't worry, I think Ethel mentioned something about taking you out so you won't be bored" he adds.

"Great" she sends him a weak smile back but he doesn't notice.

"This is cute, Oh my gosh, so is this" Kevin moans, shopping with Kevin on a normal day was long and stressful, although a good and honest shopping buddy when it came to adult clothes, newborn clothes was a whole different story. Everything was 'cute' and 'so teeny tiney' and it was driving her insane.

"I think we have enough now Kev" she laughs

"Are you sure? I saw a really nice poncho back there"

"Don't think she needs a poncho at the moment but thanks Kev"

"So what are my favourite milf and dilf doing for cupids day tomorrow?" He questions as they leave the store

"Jugs working so I am out with Ethel but she won't tell me what we're doing yet"

"So you and Jug?" He starts

"Are doing shit all, can we talk about something else Kevin?"

"Betty"

"I'm fine and please don't mention anything to him, I just want a cheeseburger so can we drop by McDonald's please?"

She buys 3 cheeseburgers and eats them all on her way home and then she eats the left over pasta when she gets in as well. She's comfort eating but she doesn't care, she's allowed to be sad that her boyfriend isn't spending Valentines day with her. Betty wasn't a jealous person but she was definitely jealous of Veronica being flown to Paris and Kevin and Joaquin spending a couple days at a fancy spa. She had a right to be sad and eating, she didn't want to spend her day with Ethel but she was going to.

The next day it's 10am and she hasn't heard from Ethel so she drops her a text.

*I thought we were meeting today?* - Betty 10.03am

*I'll be at the loft in an hour, wear a nice dress but dress warm* - Ethel 10.05am

She fishes out a long-sleeved purple skater dress and her warm tights, she matches it with some comfy ankle boots and waits for Ethel to arrive. She meets her not long after 11 and they do some shopping, Ethel is leaving in a few weeks to go travelling so she on the hunt for last minute bits.

"So South America first?" Betty asks as they grab lunch.

"Yep, I can't wait to get a golden brown tan" She grins

"I'm so jealous, it's going to be amazing"

"No need for you to be jealous, you're ready to pop and you're going to have best time with Jug in the next few months"

"I know, I know but I can't help but wonder how it'd be if Moonbug wasn't here" she points to her massive stomach "What if all of this never happened and I was still going on the trip with you?"

Ethel grabs Betty's hands in hers "Well don't wonder because in a few weeks you're daughter will be here and you won't think twice about me in Peru".

"You're right, I don't know what I was talking about" she chuckles

"Why don't we sort out the bill and go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden?" Ethel offers

"Oh gosh, I've always wanted to go but isn't it closing soon?" It's nearing 4pm and it's February.

"Nope, open long today, Valentines" they pay the bill and hop on the subway.

Betty and Ethel are so engaged in conversation that when they get to the entrance of the gardens, Betty doesn't immediately notice Jughead waiting by the ticket office for her.

"Jug, w-what are you doing here?"

"Happy Valentines day Betts" he grins.

"I'll see you guys later, Juggie, it was a pleasure doing business with you" Ethel waves as she turns back in the direction they had just came.

"You didn't forget" Betty breathes as she wraps her arms around him.

"Of course I didn't, It's our first valentines day, I wanted to make it one to remember" he links their fingers and pulls her along with him

"How are we going in when it's closing?"

"Well remember Kevin's ex or whatever he was, Moose? He works here and he owed me a favour so we have 2 hours in these lovely gardens, all on our own"

They walk through the flowers for around half an hour, they look at the roses in the rose garden and they stroll through the Japanese hill and pond garden until they come to a stop at a conveniently placed picnic blanket. Spread out on the blanket are all of Betty's favourites, red velvet cake, watermelon, animal crackers and thermals full of rich hot chocolate.

"You even got me Cheetos"

"First and last time I am purchasing them for you" he scoffs with a smile.

"This is amazing Juggie, I can't believe you remembered how much I wanted to come here"

"I remember everything about you Elizabeth" he sighs "Can I have a kiss?"

"Of course you can Forsythe" she brushes her lips on his. Her hands pull at the hairs at the back of his neck as their kiss deepens when suddenly she feels an intense pain causing her to pull away and hiss.

"Betts? What's going on?"

"Oh Juggie, OW OW."

"Is it the baby? God Betty are you ok?"

"Jug she's coming" she pants

"Ok ok, umm are you sure? What if it's those things, the fake contraction thingys?"

"Pretty sure they're real Jug, I think my waters just broke" she almost wails

"Ok ok ok" he grabs his phone out of his pocket and dials 911, Betty can't even concentrate on what he's saying, the contractions are too painful, she moves to stand up and Jughead helps her.

"It's too early Jug, I'm not ready to meet her yet" she cries.

"Well she's ready to meet you Betts" he walks her towards the area where they hold wedding ceremonies and calls for help. One of the security guards runs to help him and they bring Betty into the first aid room and lay her on the bed.

"Right Betts, remember what they said at our classes, if you need to push, you need to take a few short pants and then one long one"

"This isn't happening, I can't do this Jug" she's sobbing so much that her breathing becomes erratic.

"Betty, you need to calm down" he removes her tights and underwear, trying to remember what the books said about fast labours "Turn on your left side and breathe, please, it's going to be ok, I promise you"

"But Jug, she's early" she moans

"It's okay, she's not that early" he wipes off her sweaty forehead and tucks the falling strands of her hair behind her ear "She's over 37 weeks, that's full term"

He sits with her for the half an hour that it takes for the ambulance to come and take them to the hospital. They get Betty settled into a room and calmed down.

"I can't believe this is happening, We aren't ready" she whispers

"We are and she's coming tonight, I love you Betty, you're going to do great"

"Can you call mum, Polly and V please?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute".

He's been outside in the cold air for 10 minutes now, his phone in his hand. He was meant to call people, he scrolls passed Mrs Cooper and clicks Archie, it goes straight to voicemail, so he tries Veronica and finds the same, it's only then that he remembers they are enjoying their Valentines day in Paris.

He decides to send a group text to them both, Kevin, Joaquin and Ethel.

*Just a quick text to let you know that Betty has gone into labour, she should be having the baby tonight* - Jughead 6.49pm

As soon as he sends his text, he dials Alice.

"Hello?" She answers

"Hey Mrs Cooper, Umm Betty is in labour"

"WHAT" she screeches

"We were out today and she went into early labour and she's in the room now having contractions and the baby is coming now and I've been trying to calm her down and telling her that we're ready but I don't know if I am, I'm a liar"

"Jughead, calm down. It's going to be fine, you're ready for this, you need to be with her"

"I know."

"Ok, I'm going to jump in the car, I'll be a couple hours, make sure your phone is on"

"Can you let Polly know?"

"Yes, now get back to my daughter" she chuckles "It's going to be ok Jughead"

By the time he returns Betty's contractions have grown closer together "Where the fuck have you been?" She seethes

"I'm sorry I was outside" he whispers as he stands by her and grabs her hand "I just needed some air"

"Oh I'm sorry Forsythe, are you a little overwhelmed at the moment?" She grunts and squeezes his hand "ARE YOU PUSHING A MELON OUT OF YOUR VAGINA?"

He laughs at this and kisses her fingers "Well one of us had to do it and I'm happy it's you"

"I think I need to push now" she pants

"Remember what we said Betty, if you need to push, you push" the doctor soothes "Push" and she does. Her contractions come nearly every minute for the next 20 minutes before they get the head out.

"Ok Betty, I've got her head, nice head of dark hair here, I'm going to need one more BIG push from you now" the doctor instructs.

"I can't do it, I'm tired" she cries, sweat falling off of her face.

"You can do it Betts, we're so close to meeting her" he tells her

"Ok ok" she pushes really hard and a piercing cry fills the room.

"Well done Betty, she's beautiful" the doctor praises "Dad, would you like to cut the cord?"

"Uh yes please" he picks up the scissors and cuts the cord, he awkwardly stands there while the nurses clean up his daughter.

"Here you go dad, all clean and ready to meet her parents" he holds out his arms and accepts his baby, he looks down at her pink face as he takes her to meet her mum.

"She's stunning Betty" he places her in Betty's arms.

"Ten fingers, Ten toes and a head of dark hair like her dad, she the most perfect thing I have ever seen, our Luna"

Jughead sniffs watching the ladies in his life.

"Are you crying Jughead?" Betty smiles

"Yes, ok, I'm crying because my girlfriend has just given birth to the most precious thing ever"

"And now she's going to push out her placenta" Betty grits her teeth as she hands Luna back to Jughead and the doctor helps her deliver.

He look down at his daughter who is yet to open her eyes, he can't believe she is in his arms. The little girl that already holds his heart, he didn't even know he could love this much, he didn't know he was ready for fatherhood but now she's in his arms he knows he will do anything for her and protect her from anything and anyone.

"You know this totally spoilt our Valentines day" Betty laughs as her eyes start drooping from exhaustion.

"No, she made it one to remember, go to sleep Betts, I'll sit with her" He kisses her forehead as her eyes close. He doesn't know how long he sits with her before there's a knock at the and he sees a grinning Kevin plastered to the window. He gestures him in but points to Betty to let him know to be quiet.

"Congratulations Jug, she's lovely, what's her name?"

"Luna" he smiles.

They spend 2 days in the hospital before they are allowed to go home. Betty is thankful because she just wants to be in her own bed. Her mum and Polly came down the same day and even though Polly had to get back home for work, Alice decided to stay for a few days to help Betty and Jughead get settled in. Ethel, Kevin and Joaquin had popped in twice during her short stay on the maternity ward and promised to drop by when they got settled back into the loft.

Betty looks down at her chest where Luna is laying, she has just fed her and she's having what Betty thinks is her 15th nap of the day and its only lunch time. Alice is out doing a food shop and Jughead is running her a bath.

"What time do you think they'll land?" She whispers as he walks back into the room.

"No idea but they're in for one shock, aren't they my little Moonbug?" He picks her off Betty's chest and lays her on his own.

"Yeah well nobody told them to turn their phones off for 5 days" she climbs into the bath and has a relaxing 20 minutes before her phone starts ringing, she looks down to see Veronicas name before she dries her hand and answers the call.

"YOU HAD THE BABY?!" She shouts

"Yeah and I'd like to keep my ear so I can hear when my kid needs me" she chuckles

"What's she like B?"

"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, she's the perfect mix of me and Juggie, she has his dark hair and my green eyes, she seems so small but they say she's normal sized, I'm in love V"

"What's her name?"

"Luna Pearl Jones"

"Pretty name, congratulations Betty, I'm so proud of you, I'm so sorry we were M.I.A for the last few days but I am on the first plane to NYC"

She tells Veronica all about their nightmare Valentines day that ended up being a dream and by the time they've finished talking she's pruning.

"Right V, I've gotta go, I left Juggie with Moonbug and I'm kinda missing my babies"

"Send me pictures ASAP"

"Will do".

She climbs out of the bath, dries herself and throws on some sweats, she heads back to the living room but Jughead isn't there, she heads to the nursery but he isn't in there either, she finally turns to their room where she finds Jughead lying on their bed with Luna on his stomach, both looking like they're sleeping. She pulls out her phone, snaps a picture and sends it to Veronica, seconds later her phone pings in reply.

*AWWW SO CUTE B* - Veronica 1.09pm

She puts her phone down and climbs onto the bed next to Jughead, she puts her lips to his ears "I love you Juggie" she whispers

"I love you Betty" he whispers back as Luna mewls "You too Moonbug" he chuckles.


	11. Chapter 11

Luna is 3 months

He walks through the loft door and all he can hear is giggling.

"Is that daddy? Is that your daddy, sweet girl?" Betty coos "Hey Juggie, how was work?" She stretches up from the couch to peck his lips.

"Long and Kevin didn't let me eat my lunch in peace" he looks over at Luna who is lying on her back trying to grab the hanging toys from above her "How was she today?"

"She was a good girl, I was so convinced she'd roll over but she's being lazy"

He reaches down, picks her up and cradles her in his arms "Did mama say you'd been lazy?" He blows raspberries on her bare tummy and she giggles in reply "What you feeling for dinner? I can do a quick stir-fry?"

"Sounds good"

He gets up and puts Luna in her swing seat and pushes the seat to the kitchen so she can see him. They realised not long after Luna was born that she was a daddies girl. At first that shocked Jughead because it meant that a lot of the time Luna didn't want Betty, she wanted him, somedays she was literally attached to his hip and others she would be satisfied by watching him from her swing which is what he found happening more often. Betty originally felt like she was doing something wrong, her daughter clearly preferred one parent and that wasn't her but then she started to use it to her own advantage. Once Jughead got home from work he would sit with Luna and Betty could have time to herself and get things done that she couldn't with Luna on her all day.

"I'm going to have a bath" Betty states as she heads past the kitchen

"Dinner in 20"

"Cool" she closes the bathroom and starts the water.

Jughead turns to Luna who is watching him with eager eyes "So now I'm going to put the chicken on the foreman and let it cook for a while before I do the veg, I don't want the chicken to cook and get cold before mama is out of the bath" she's babbling in reply so he continues "Your Uncle Kevin was getting on my last nerve today, I wanted to eat my lunch in silence, I was so excited to get a burger from that joint near the gym that's been closed for renovation for the last month. I have been craving the jalapeno chilli cheeseburger and their seasoned fries, not as good as Pops back home but comes close. So when I woke up today I was so excited to have it and just sit in my office and enjoy it but Uncle Kev didn't want daddy to enjoy it, Luna" he sighs.

He starts sorting out the vegetables as he uses his foot to switch Lunas swing off "Sometimes I feel like Kevin was put on this earth to annoy me and yes I know he's mine and mamas best friend but sometimes I wish he'd fall in a hole"

"I'll let him know how you feel" Betty laughs "Why are you telling her about her annoying uncle?"

"Just letting her know about my day" he hands her the some plates

"She doesn't know what you're saying"

"The baby books said you can help start develop her language skills from now by talking to her and describing what you are doing" he sticks his tongue out at her.

"Do you think she understands you?" They both look over at Luna who is entertaining herself by pulling on her fingers.

"No not yet but she will" he grins "Did you speak to V?"

"Yeah she says that she doesn't care what we think, her dad has already agreed and is paying" Betty replies.

Veronica and Archie had decided on a short engagement and chosen Hawaii as their wedding destination. To Veronica money wasn't an issue, as long of the people she wanted were going to be there, she didn't care. When she first let Betty and Jughead know her plans they had agreed to come but once they realised how much money it would cost they became uneasy. So Jughead had asked Betty to have a chat with her best friend and let her know that it might only be Betty attending as they couldn't afford the flights and hotel for the both of them.

"So what did she say exactly?"

"She said her dad has sorted out these massive suites for us and he is going to be in touch soon to sort out flights which he is also paying for" she sighs "Look Jug, I know you don't feel comfortable but you know what V is like. She said the whole wedding party are getting their flights and accommodation paid for and because we are Maid of Honour and Best Man we can't not go"

"Ok I guess, what about Kevin and Joaquin?" he asks

"Well V also said the suite we've got has 3 bedrooms so as long as they can get flights out they are having one room in our suite and then V invited mum and Pol who would have the last room if they can make it and when I mentioned it to mum she seemed to be ok with it"

"At least we can leave Luna with her and get some alone time" he smirks

"Exactly what I was thinking Mr Jones"

Luna 4 months.

"COME TO AUNTY V" Veronica squeals as she scoops up Luna from her seat "I'd kiss you but I don't want to get lipstick all over your pretty face"

"I wouldn't pick her up if I was you Ron." Jughead laughs "Betts just had to change because someone decided to throw up on her mama, isn't that right Moonbug?" He takes her from Veronica's outstretched arms.

"Love you Luna but I don't want to change as well" she looks around the loft "So when is the babysitter getting here?"

"5 minutes" Betty answers as she returns in dress number two "Keep Luna well away because I don't have a third dress that's going to hide my baby fat"

"What baby fat B? You look amazing"

"She doesn't agree, no matter how many times I tell her" Jughead smiles as he uses his free arm to pull her to his side and plant a kiss on her temple.

"Stay right there, perfect picture moment" Veronica declares as she pulls out her phone.

The door knocks and they all jump.

"That must be the babysitter" Betty announces "I'll go let her in"

Jughead looks down at Luna and then at the door and Veronica notices "Hey Jug, she'll be fine, Betts said the lady is a professional, a real Mrs Doubtfire"

"I know Ronnie but I just don't want to leave her with a stranger, what if something happens?" He whispers

"It won't" she pats his shoulder as the babysitter introduces herself and Betty gives her all the information she needs to know about Luna.

"Right if that's everything we better be going, Come on Jug" Betty all but drags Jughead out of the loft and they get inside the party bus that Veronica and Archie had acquired for the evening.

"What took you guys so long?" Archie asks as they climb in.

"Had to make sure the babysitter knew what she was doing dude" Jughead explains "Hey man, is your phone on loud?"

"Yeah why?"

"I gave the babysitter your number" he turns to Kevin and Joaquin "You guys too, so phones on loud"

"LETS GET DRUNK" one of Veronicas friends shout.

Veronica and Archie chose to do their Bachelor and Bachelorette party together in New York and Betty had been looking forward to it all month, she didn't go out much before having Moonbug but she's gone out even less since. Trying to get Jughead to agree to a babysitter had been hard and when he had heard the parties were being held on the same night she could tell it made him uneasy as it meant neither of them could look after Luna and they couldn't even ask Kevin or Joaquin.

The first bar they went to Jughead was quiet, he only contributed to any conversation when prompted not everyone noticed due to the amount people in the group, it was easy for him to just hang back.

"We like to drink with Archie cause Archie is our mate and when we drink with Archie he gets it down in 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1" everyone chants as Archie gulps down his pint, they all scream when he slams the glass on the bar and calls the bartender for another. Whilst everyone is on their second or third beverage, Jughead is still on his first and Archie notices.

"Hey Betty, what's up with Jughead?" Archie questions

She looks across the bar where Jughead is taking a sip of the same beer she'd purchased him an hour before "I think he's worrying about Luna with the babysitter, I don't know what to do or say to make him realise that she's fine"

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"Not tonight Arch, you need to enjoy yourself"

"He's my best friend and my best man, I need him to enjoy himself too" he walks over and sits on the stool next to him "Jug, everything ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine man, why aren't you drinking with everyone?"

"Why aren't you?" He fires back

"Arch-"

"Jug, she's fine, you and Betty can't be with her all the time"

He sighs "I know, I'm just scared Archie, I love her so much I don't want to leave her with a stranger"

"I can't tell you how to feel Jug but I know you won't feel this way forever, now come and drink with us and enjoy yourself for a night, you'll be back cleaning Lunas shitty diapers tomorrow, ok?"

Jughead smiles at this "Ok man, go get me some shots"

The pair rejoin the group and Jughead downs his acquired shots just as everybody decides to move on to bar number two. As they are walking Betty links her arm through Jugheads as they stroll through the evening humidity.

"Everything ok now Juggie?"

"Yeah I'm sorry I was just a bit anxious, you know I don't trust easily"

"I know, it's fine to be anxious sometimes, you're her dad but we need to have fun too"

"So let's have fun" he smiles as he drags her through the club doors and straight to the bar.

"Can I get 4 shots of Vodka, a rum and coke and a glass of white wine" he orders.

"Are you trying to get me drunk Mr Jones?" Betty grins as she sips on her glass of wine.

"Yes Ms Cooper, I am" he slides two shots over to her and takes his own "Like you said we need to have fun"

They spend the next couple of hours drinking and playing games, the girls even manage to get Jughead on to the dancefloor for a while which Betty found amusing. Veronica was so drunk she was walking around barefoot and attached to Archie's side. Betty was resting her feet with Kevin, she had cut herself off because she had drank more than she had wanted to.

"Hey I'm going to get another drink, want one?"

"No thanks Kev, I think I need to stop, I don't feel in control of myself" she replies

"Ok Hulk, I'll be right back" Kevin chuckles. She watches him stroll to the bar where Joaquin and Jughead are conversing over their drinks. From the corner of her eye she can see a slim blonde girl walk towards them, she grins knowing the girl will get the shock of her life when she learns that both of the attractive men in front of her are gay and together but she doesn't approach Kevin or Joaquin, she stops in front of Jughead. She gets up and walks to a group of Veronica's friends so she can get a closer look at this girl, she's closer but not close enough to hear over the music but she can see what is going on more clearly, though she is hidden by the many people around her.

"Hi I'm Mia" Jughead turns at the voice

"Jughead" he nods

"Can I get you a drink?" Mia asks

"No thank you" he looks over her shoulder and sees his two friends snickering at his awkward interaction.

"So are you from around here?" Mia presses

"Uh yeah look Mia, you seem really nice but I have girlfriend"

"Figures" she laughs "All the really good looking ones are always taken"

"Sorry, I'm sure you'll find someone just as good looking as me"

She laughs even harder at this "I'll let you know when I find him, hey do you have a twin?"

"Unfortunately no, I may have a doppelganger, everyone has one in the world"

Betty watches as Jughead laughs with the girl in front of him, each time the girl smiles it makes her blood boil. Sober Betty would think nothing of the interaction before her but drunk Betty hasn't got the same thought process as sober Betty. Drunk Betty wants to tell that girl that Jughead is _her_ man and that's what she does.

The girl is looking over Jugheads shoulder at something on his phone, she doesn't get a chance to see what he is showing her as storms over to the pair and grabs the girl by the strap of her bag that is hanging on her shoulder. Kevin spits out his drink and Joaquin's eyes widen.

"Betty what the hell?" Jughead yells

"I take it that's the girlfriend?" Mia squeaks

"Yeah I am, so why don't you fuck off!" Betty demands

"Betty stop" Jughead pleads

"It's ok Jughead, I don't want to cause a problem, it was nice meeting you" Mia smiles

"Well it's a bit late for that don't you think bitch?"

"Betty" Jughead hisses "I'm so sorry Mia, it was nice meeting you too" he waves as he drags Betty outside till they come to a stop and he looks at her and they stare at each other until Archie and Kevin are standing behind them.

"What happened? Did Betty get in a fight?" Archie asks

"No, she was just a bit rude to a girl at the bar, I think she's just too drunk so I'm going to take her home now"

"I'm not drunk Jughead" she slurs "I know flirting when I see it and you were flirting"

"They weren't flirting Betty, they were just talking, Joaquin and I were there"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAW KEVIN SO STAY OUT OF IT!"

"Ok, Arch tonight was great, thanks but we're grabbing this taxi, talk tomorrow" Jughead calls as he opens the door and Betty slides in.

No one speaks during the car ride and when Jughead pays the babysitter Betty stays quiet. He checks on Luna, goes to the kitchen, pours a glass of water and hands It to a solemn Betty.

"Thanks" she whispers

"I'll stay up to give Moonbug her next feed, you can go lie down, I'll be in soon" he grabs a bottle of Betty's pumped milk out of the fridge.

"Jug-"

"Just drink the water, it'll sober you up"

"I'm not drunk Jughead"

"So what are you?" He argues

"Sober enough to see you flirting with that girl"

"I would never flirt with someone else Betty" he looks tired "I told Mia-"

"You know her name" Betty moans

"Yes I do because she introduced herself and yeah she came over with the intention to flirt and she offered to buy me a drink but I told her straight away that I had a girlfriend, I even showed her Luna"

"Oh" she looks down "Well you guys were laughing and smiling"

"Can't I laugh and smile with other women? Look Betty, I love you, so you have nothing to worry about and I know you're drunk no matter how many times you deny it" he looks down at the bottle in his hands "I just have to work on the way you see me, I trust you with everything I have Betts but clearly you don't trust me" he turns to walk out but Betty grabs his arm.

"I do trust you, I do" she begs

"Drunk talks, sober thoughts" he releases his arm and walks into the nursery.

The next morning Betty wakes up to lots babbling from the living room, she hops out of bed too fast, her head is pounding and her mouth is dry.

"Peek-a-boo daddy sees you" Luna reaches for the blanket Jughead is using to cover his face "Where's daddy Luna? Peek-a-boo he's here" she's squealing with excitement when Betty clears her throat.

"Morning Jug, morning Moonbug" she sits down on the playmat next to Jughead.

"Say morning mama" he lifts Luna's hand to wave at Betty "Do you want some breakfast?"

"No, I just want to apologise for last night, my behaviour-"

"It's fine Betty, I just need to work on being more trustworthy, it doesn't make me love _you_ any less and I hope it doesn't make you love _me_ any less"

"You are trustworthy, it was the drink talking"

"I know but there must be some truth to what you were feeling" he picks at his fingers

"Jughead Jones, I am sorry for making an ass of myself in front of our friends and embarrassing you and myself, I love and trust you more than you know, I just …"

"Just what?"

"I got jealous, Jug" he chuckles at this

"Well it was nice seeing jealous Betty for a second there, she was hot" Luna is entertaining herself with her feet "Your mama is so hot Luna, even hotter when she's angry"

Betty swats Jughead but grins "No one tries to steal mama's man Moonbug, no one"

A/N: 2 more chapters left guys, hope you liked this one :)

Tumblr: remyrabid xx


	12. Chapter 12

Luna is 5 months

"Why is it our flight that's delayed?" Jughead huffs

"Only delayed by 20 minutes Jug, calm down" Joaquin laughs as he bounces a gurgling Luna on his knee.

"Who'd have thought, Mr Jughead Jones is afraid of flying" Kevin teases.

"Why did they put us on the plane if we're just going to sit here?" Polly calls from her seat on the opposite row.

"SEE?" Jughead claps his hands in agreement "I'm not the only one thinking it."

"No one said you were, you just need to keep calm Juggie" adds Betty, they all turn to Luna who is starting to get grizzly "Give me Moonbug, she can sense you're uncomfortable and I don't want to be the mum with the crying baby on a flight"

"What I don't get is how Mrs C is already sleeping when we haven't even taken off yet" they all laugh at Kevin's comment.

The month had passed quickly and Veronica and Archie's wedding was here before they knew it. They had decided to not complain and take Veronicas kind offer of a nice three bedroom suite for the week, Kevin and Joaquin had quickly confirmed their attendance and snapped up one room and initially Polly was unsure as to whether she wanted spend the week sharing a room with her mother but Veronica pouted and pouted until Polly agreed.

Being a maid of honour when the bride lives in a different state to you is hard, especially when the maid of honour has a child but between, Betty, Veronica and her parents they had managed to pull together what will be the nicest, small, no expense spared wedding. Although Veronica and Archie were two of the most popular people she'd ever met, their wedding barely had 50 people attending. It surprised Betty when she was told that the wedding would be small and intimate but she knew it was going to be great.

"So do you guys like the suite?" Archie questions

"It's beautiful Archibald, Veronica thank you so much for inviting me" Alice smiles as she pulls her suitcase into her room.

"We will leave you guys to settle in for a couple hours, cars will be downstairs to take us to dinner at 6" Veronica calls over her shoulder as she drags Archie back to their presidential suite. Once they leave everyone retires to their respective rooms to unpack and freshen up.

Betty is watching the waves from the window when Jughead walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her middle "I am so happy they put the crib in the room with the sea view, don't you think it's beautiful Betts?"

"Its a stunning view" she whispers back

"Like the little lady watching it" he slides her hair to one side and plants a wet, open mouthed kiss on her now bare shoulder.

"You're such a cornball" she groans "I can't wait to have some alone time with you Jug"

"I can't wait to fuck your brains out ma'am"

"JUG" she nods to Luna who is rolling around in her crib, she lowers her voice before she continues "I can't wait to fuck you either sir"

"Thank you so much for dinner Mr Lodge"

"You are very welcome, anything for Pumpkins favourite people" Hiram smiles "I trust you all found your rooms to your liking?"

Everybody nods before Alice speaks up "They are wonderful, thank you Hiram"

"So guys, we obviously know why we are here in this amazing place but I also want you guys to relax and have fun this week. The wedding is in two days as you know, tomorrow I've booked a good old spa day for us girls and mum so we can relax before the craziness the next day and so that means boys, you are on Lulu duty. Then Sunday is the wedding, then you guys are free to enjoy the rest of your time here before you leave again on Friday and we fly for Fiji"

"Plan sounds great Pumpkin" Hiram grins "Thank you for joining me tonight everybody, Goodnight" he rises from the table, kissing Veronicas head as her exits the restaurant.

"Well if we're watching Luna tomorrow, I think we better fit some drinking in tonight then, isn't that right boys?" Archie elbows Kevin.

"Don't know what you're elbowing Kevin, he's going to the spa with us" Veronica grins as she accepts Kevin's high five.

"Anyways no one is going to leave Luna with _you_ Archie, not after that baby powder incident" Polly laughs

"Yeah sorry Arch but Moonbug can't be left in your care until she's at least 40" Betty watches Archie's cheeks turn pink as she speaks "I was vacuuming baby powder up from the carpet for weeks" They all laugh at this.

"You guys are the worst" Archie sighs

"Don't listen to them Archie, Luna loves her favourite Uncle" Jughead pats his shoulder as Kevin clears his throat "She loves you both the same" he shares a look with Betty, they both know that they are talking rubbish, Luna has a clear favourite uncle and it wasn't Archie or Kevin it was Joaquin.

They get back to their rooms and everybody decides to get an early night. Betty tries to get Luna settled for bed but she refuses to lie down no matter what she tries.

"Do you want to take a walk on the beach, maybe sit out there for a while and see if she calms down?" Jughead offers

"Great idea" she hops off the bed as Jughead grabs a blanket from the linen closet.

They stroll along the sea front for a while but Luna stays cranky even in her dads arms. Betty takes the blanket from Jughead and spreads it on the sand and sits down on it, Jughead follows her down but chooses to lie instead of sit, he places Luna on his stomach and begins to rub her back.

"You're so amazing with her Jug"

"So are you"

"But you're even better"

"It's not a competition Betty, lie down with us" he yanks on the hem of her yellow sundress as she lowers herself on to her back.

"You got her to sleep already, I could never do that" she huffs

"Are we fighting?"

"No, I am just making an observation"

"Well stop observing and just accept that I'm good at getting her to sleep just like you're good at feeding her now shh and watch the moon"

Archie and Veronica's day had come fast. The wedding was set to start at 4pm with the reception following straight after.

"Wow Lulu, doesn't your mama look good?" Alice smiles "You look beautiful Elizabeth"

"Thanks mum, keep Luna over there please, I think V would have a heart attack if my dress got messy"

Betty and Veronica had spent days, maybe even weeks searching for a dress they could both agree on. Veronica is a firm believer of no one outshining the bride so in the beginning every dress she showed Betty was ugly. It was on a random shopping trip that Veronica wasn't on when Betty found the dress she wanted to wear. She had been told the colour scheme was a pale pink so when she saw the simple pink Grecian dress she straight away asked for her best friends approval. With her approval in tow, they found a cute dress in the same colour for Luna to wear as Veronica didn't want her Goddaughters dress to 'ruin the aesthetics'.

"Jughead looks smart too"

"Mmmhmm"

"Maybe one day this could be you guys, getting married on a nice beach"

"Not for a long time mum, it's way too soon" she looks over at Luna in her frilly dress and smiles "Can we just focus on the fact that my kid looks super adorable in that dress, where's her headband?"

"She kept pulling it off, I think Polly has it, anyways I'll see you down there" Alice stands up and leaves the room as Veronica steps out of her dressing room.

"Oh V" Betty coos

"I know I look amazing" she spins around. Her hair is in a beautiful bun on top of her head with a few tendrils falling delicately around her face "It's like Zac Posen designed this dress just for me"

"Well we both know he did so you can stop with the dramatics" Hermione chuckles.

Her dress was simple, especially for Veronica, for someone with such a vibrant personality and princess like tendencies her dress was very plain but elegant. An Ivory satin mermaid gown with a button trail at the back of her bodice leading down to the top of the grand bow that sits where her train begins. She picks up her pink chrysanthemum bouquet and smiles.

"Right, I am going to grab your dad and head downstairs, I love you honey" Hermione fixes her fascinator in the mirror before heading to meet the rest of the guests.

"Right Pumpkin, lets not leave young Archibald standing at that alter for much longer" Hiram sings as he offers his arm out for Veronica.

Betty strides down the aisle, looking straight ahead as she had rehearsed. She looks into Jugheads gleaming eyes, he looks incredibly handsome in his natural coloured linen suit. She takes her places opposite him and waits for Veronica to make her entrance. As she steps on to the beach Archie's eyes light up and his face softens, as she reaches the wedding arch she kisses her dads cheek before he takes his seat and the registrar begins.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am very happy to be here on this special day to celebrate the love that Veronica and Archie have for each other. It is your love that has bought us here today and a wedding is a lifelong declaration of love and I hope your love flourishes with the years that come" he pauses before he continues "Now the bride and groom have written their own vows, Archie …"

"Veronica Lodge, I knew from the moment I saw you that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my best friend, my mentor, my confidant, my lover. You make me more happy than I ever imagined. Everybody tells you that young love never amounts to anything, that falling in love at 16 is silly but look at us all these years later, in front of our family and friends. I love you unconditionally and I can't wait to be your husband"

"You're going to make me ruin my make-up" Veronica sniffs "Archikins, I would say that today I give you my heart but you have had it for years. You are my true love, my everything and you have made me a better person. We have an amazing life together already, a home, a career, the best friends and family but what matters is that I share it all with you. Today is the best day of my life and I can't wait to be your wife"

"And now, seal your promises with these rings. Archibald, please repeat after me, Veronica, this ring I give as token and pledge, as a sign of my love and devotion, with this ring, I thee wed"

Archie repeats the words and the registrar prompts Veronica to repeat hers.

"Archibald, this ring I give as token and pledge, as a sign of my love and devotion, with this ring, I thee wed" she smiles.

"Veronica and Archie, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Archie, you may kiss the bride"

"Today was the best day" Jughead yawns "When we get married I want a day just like this"

"When?" Betty laughs

"Yeah, one day"

"Can you unzip me?" He climbs up from his spot on the bed, unzips her dress and lets it pool by her feet, he kisses her back as he unhooks her bra, leaving her in a black thong.

"Aren't we lucky that Moonbug loves her nana and that the crib has wheels?" Betty chuckles as she unbuttons Jugheads shirt.

"Yeah you wheeled that shit out of here pretty fast" he points out

"I just want you to myself" she pushes him down on to the bed and straddles him.

"Tell me what else you want"

"I want to make love to you" she lays down on top of him and presses their bare chests together "Kiss me" she whispers. He leans up and kisses her hard on the mouth, he pulls her bottom lip into his mouth and sucks on it for a moment. He flips them so he is hovering over her as sucks on her neck leaving his mark.

"Juggie stop playing around, I need you now-" she's cut off by a frantic knock on the door.

"Guys, sorry to bother you-" Polly starts from the other side of the wall.

"ARE YOU?" Jughead growls

"Luna feels really hot and she's not settling"

The naked pair share a look "We're coming Pol" Betty states as she grabs her robe.

They get to the other room where Jughead grabs a wiggling Luna from Alice's arms. He feels her head "Jesus she's boiling"

"What do we do?" Betty asks

"Just get a cool wash rag and wipe her down for now, give her some milk and in the morning take her to a doctor" Alice instructs

"Betty get the crib" she follows after him, pulling the crib behind her.

Jughead pats the cool rag on Luna's head "What if its something bad Betts?"

"It won't be, she had her shots Jug, we'll see what the doctor says".

"Ok"

"Lets just get some sleep"

"Slapped cheek syndrome? What the hell is that?" Kevin asks

"It's a virus you catch, where you get the flu and your cheeks go red" Fred answers "Loads of kids get it, she'll be fine Jug"

"I know that now but initially I was very worried" Jughead sighed "It's just annoying that the holiday is spoilt now"

"Its not spoilt, you have so much family here to help watch Luna, you and Betty can still have fun" Fred smiles "Plus I wanna get to know the kid"

"Sounds good to me Fred" he looks down at Luna who is getting agitated on his lap "Hey Moonbug should we go find your mama?" He spots Betty floating in the pool before walking over.

"Hey guys, Luna wanna come in the water with mama? Sure you do" Betty takes her from Jughead and lets her kick her legs in the water.

"She loves the water" he murmurs as he watches them.

"She's like you Juggie, half fish" they sit down in the shallow end of the pool "I wonder if she's going to be anything like me at all"

"We have plenty of time to find out Betts, I hope she's just like you"

She splashes him with the water "Come get in with us"

"Do you want to go out tonight? Maybe leave Luna with your mum and try our alone time again?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yep or maybe we could keep Luna tonight and go out together and then leave her with your mum tomorrow and we can go explore?"

"I like that idea better, I read about some places online I wanted to see"

"Well then it's a plan" he presses a kiss to her temple and then one on Luna's dark locks.

"This is beautiful, Jug get a picture of that turtle on the black sand"

"I got a few already Betts"

They had booked an excursion through the hotel, there were so many to choose from that they didn't know what one to pick at first. They chose one called "Big island in one day" as it covered different parts of the island and was a popular choice among the tourists.

"The tour guide is really nice"

Jugheads eyebrows shoot up "Is he now?"

"I don't mean like that, you dork. I mean he really does this tour .. well" they share a laugh.

"Where are we going next?"

"The volcano park I think"

They get to the volcanoes national park and they are amazed. They take a walk through the a lava tube and see what an active volcano looks like.

"The volcano is amazing, Juggie did you-"

"Yes"

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Juggie did you take some pictures?" He says in his best Betty voice, her smile drops off her face "Was that what you were going to say?"

"Maybe, maybe not" she shrugs "You're such a dork"

"You tell me that almost everyday, I'm beginning to think you're dork-ist"

"What does dork-ist mean?" Betty snorts

"You know, racist, sexist, ageist, dork-ist? You have a problem with dorks"

She elbows him as she laughs at his ridiculous comment "Come on Jug, we've got to get back to the group"

"You know if you elbowed me any harder, I would have fallen in to the volcano and boiled alive"

"Who would annoy me everyday if you got cooked in the lava?" She smirks

"Yeah and who would father the rest your children?"

Betty gasps "Rest?"

"Yeah Luna doesn't want to be an only child Betts"

"Did she tell you that?"

"Mmmhmmm, when you were out getting groceries last week"

The whole tour ends up lasting 12 hours so by the end both Betty and Jughead are tired. They get back to the hotel late, aware that they have missed Lunas bed time, they head to the restaurant. They sit in silence as they eat their dinner.

"Did you have a good day?" She grins

"I had a great day, it was nice to get out and explore"

"Yeah" she agrees "Can't believe we only have the 2 days left before we fly on Friday morning"

"I'm so happy we came, maybe when Luna gets a bit bigger we can start going on holiday properly, like a nice holiday a year"

"Great idea Jug, you know earlier when you were talking about more kids, did you mean it?" She's watching him from under her lashes.

"Of course, when we are more financially stable, maybe we can move back home one day or find a house in New York, whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go I'll follow you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He takes a sip of his beer "Next kid better be a boy though, I don't think I'd be able to take 3 females"

"A son" she sighs

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones the IV" she scoffs at his name choice "Jughead Junior" he adds.

"Jughead Junior?"

"Has a ring to it, right? Play along ok?"

"Ok" her eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"Hello Ms Cooper, how many children do you have?"

"One"

"Two? Wow, what are your children called?" He persists

"Luna Jones and Junior Jones"

"See how good those names sound?" He beams

"Was the role play necessary?"

"Yep"

"Well Junior Jones good but he won't be with us for a while, right?"

"Well don't look at me, I'm not the one with the womb" he gawks

A/N: 1 more chapter after this :) xxx Tumblr: remyrabid xxxx


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Last chapter, enjoy:)

Luna is 10 months

"Jug grab her, we need to go" Betty calls from the front door of the cooper home.

"Da da da da" Luna sings from under the dining table.

"The kid is too fast" Jughead huffs as he crouches by the table to find a laughing Luna "Come on Moonbug, mama is waiting"

"Mmmma" she stretches out her arms for dad to pick her up.

"Yeah mama" he pulls her pink wooly hat over her ears "Lets get going"

Like they did every year, they made the trip back home to Riverdale to spend Christmas with their families. They were trying the joint Christmas again, with Alice promising to be on her best behaviour and her and Betty pulling out all the stops for Luna's first Christmas, it was bound to be their best. As much as Betty loved living in New York she looked forward to every time she returned home.

They were on their way to the Blossom Christmas party, Luna in tow. This year it had been Betty that was unsure on whether or not to go but Jughead had convinced her to take the night out. In true Alice Cooper style, she had requested Luna attend the party too so she could show the town her 'gorgeous grandbaby' and the pair only agreed if Alice looked after her so they still got to enjoy their night.

When they arrive at Thornhill the party is in full swing, Her mother and Polly had got their when it started, to Betty, there was no such thing as being on time anymore, not with a temperamental baby. They were handing over their coats to the cloakroom attendant when a squeal makes them all jump.

"IS THAT HER?" Cheryl shouts

"Uh yeah" Jughead replies as Luna is removed from his arms and in cuddled in Cheryl's.

"Oh Betty, Hobo, she is so cute"

"Thanks Cheryl" Betty smiles "Merry Christmas, Jug, I'm going to look for mum" she heads off into the ball room.

"Merry Christmas Betty" she looks down "and Merry Christmas to you, little cutie" she taps Lunas nose.

"So can I get the kid back or?"

"No, not yet, I'll keep her for a while, she's adorable Jughead, she looks just like you"

"I know, don't tell Betty that" he smiles "How are you?"

"I'm good, did you look at the listing I sent you?"

"I'm good too, thanks for asking" he bitterly replies "but no I didn't because I'm going to go with the first one, I showed Mrs C and she really liked it"

"Well who cares if she liked it? She isn't going to live in it" Cheryl quips back

"I had to get the seal of approval, I picked up the keys this morning"

"I can't believe I'm going to see your face all the time"

"You know I'm your favourite person these days, who'd have thought we'd become such cyber buddies and you'd help me shop for a house"

"Yeah I spent a lot of time searching high and low for something that you'd approve of"

"You're a realtor, it's your job you snob"

"Fuck off"

"Cheryl" Jughead hisses "Little ears"

"Sorry, anyways all I ask in return for all the work I have done, is to be made godmother to any future offspring" she sighs

"Absolutely not, now give me my child before you turn her sour like you" he puts his arms out and Luna leans forward to him "Let's go find mama and nana so daddy can get drunk with aunty Cheryl, yeah?"

"Mmmma" Luna repeats

"Yes ma, laters Blossom".

Jughead and Betty spend the night drinking and dancing, Veronica and Archie don't attend the party this year as they were spending Christmas in New York with Veronica's family so the pair were left to their own devices. This year the Blossoms have a band playing for a while, covering some well-known songs.

 _Looks like we made it_  
 _Look how far we've come my baby_  
 _We mighta took the long way_  
 _We knew we'd get there someday_

She finds Jughead at the bar with Cheryl "Hey Jug, this is one of my favourites, can we dance?"

"Sure" he follows her to the dancefloor, takes her hand in his and wraps his other around her waist "I always thought it was funny that you liked Shania Twain but this is a sweet song I guess"

 _You're still the one I run to_  
 _The one that I belong to_  
 _You're still the one I want for life_  
 _You're still the one I love_  
 _The only one I dream of_  
 _You're still the one I kiss good night_

"Love Shania Twain, mum always used to play her songs and this one has always been one of my favourites" she rests her head on his shoulder "I want it to be the first dance song at our wedding"

"Dang it" she looks up at him "I was hoping for 'Missy Elliot – Work It' such a crowd pleaser" he smirks.

"Dork"

"I can't believe it's been a year Betts, We've been a couple for a whole year"

"It's been longer than a year for me Jug, it just took us forever to realise how perfect we are for each other"

 _I'm so glad we made it_  
 _Look how far we've come, my baby_

"Look how far we've come my baby" he kisses her warm lips.

"Ma ma ma ma" Luna chants

"Good morning Moonbug, Merry Christmas" Betty lifts her out of her crib "Lets go find daddy"

She carries Luna down the stairs and comes to a stop when she see's the winter wonderland-like decorations that weren't there the night before. There was tinsel everywhere, paper snowflakes stuck to the wall and lots of twinkling lights. She enters the kitchen where Jughead and Polly are helping Alice with the lunch preparations.

"Merry Christmas guys" she smiles

"Merry Christmas Betty and Merry Christmas little Moonbug" Polly kisses both Betty and Luna on the cheek.

"I was thinking maybe we could do presents before Jug's family get here" Alice states

"What? Presents before lunch?" Jughead scoffs "Presents have always been after lunch"

"Da da" Luna reaches out to him so Betty hands her over.

"I'm just saying maybe Luna won't want to wait until after the lunch to open presents, It's different with children in the house" Alice explains

"You gotta be kidding me, you had two kids in the house for like 18 years, we never got to open our presents until after lunch, no matter how many times we begged" Betty argues

"lol Betty is jealous of her kid" Polly laughs

"No one says lol Polly" Betty snorts

"Well I've changed my mind and decided to start a new tradition, presents before lunch now shh"

They eat breakfast together, set the table again for lunch and then disperse to get dressed for the day. Betty, Polly and Alice with Luna on her lap sit and wait for Jughead so they can unwrap presents but it isn't Jughead that comes through the door, its Santa. He has adorned his body with a fat suit, red outfit and white beard.

"No fucking way" Polly whispers

"Ho ho ho Merry Christmas Luna" he laughs in true Santa Clause style.

"Jug you are just the sweetest dad" Betty cries "Sit her on your lap so I can get a picture"

He picks up Luna and they sit together in one of the armchairs, she looks up at her disguised father and her bottom lip starts to tremble. Betty and Jughead always loved how their daughter was a friendly baby, she only cried when hungry and never had a problem being left with a person she didn't know, she was a happy baby, always but at this moment, she wasn't a happy baby.

"Oh my god, why is she crying?" Jughead yells over his daughters wails. Alice, Betty and Polly are too busy, literally rolling on the floor laughing to reply, he pulls the beard and hat off and turns Luna to face him.

"Moonbug its daddy" Betty states, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Quick Betty, take a picture" Alice chokes.

"I got a few" Polly adds

"I think we have next years Christmas card picture" Jughead chuckles as he soothes a now quiet baby "That didn't work out the way I wanted it to"

"Your heart was in the right place, Juggie" Betty insists.

They open all their presents, even Luna joining in with the unwrapping but failing to show interest in anything she unwraps, she just wants to play with the discarded paper and boxes.

"Luna and I have a gift for you Betts" Jughead reaches into his red sack and pulls out a big rectangle box and hands it to her. She opens the box to find a photo frame of a white medium sized home with the cliché white picket fence. She looks up at Jughead with a confused expression on her face.

"You got me a picture of a house, is this for a mood board or something?"

"It's a picture of our house"

"You got me a house?" She scoffs, she looks over at her mum and sister who are smiling at the pair "Am I missing something here?"

"I got us a house, here in Riverdale"

"What is going on?"

"I want to be home Betts and I know you do too, Luna can grow up here, you wanted a home and now I'm giving you one"

"B-but what about your job?"

"I got a new one at the local Riverdale paper, they needed some new journalists"

"THE REGISTER?"

"I don't want to be at the paper forever Betty and your father doesn't care for it like he used to. This is what you and Jughead went to school for. You write, so write" Alice smiles.

"What about Luna?" Betty cries

"Hey hey, don't cry this is meant to be a good thing" Jughead frowns as he pulls her into his lap.

"Happy tears, Jug, you got us a fucking house" she places a wet kiss on his mouth "You're the best man I have ever known"

"Merry Christmas baby, I love you"

Betty spends the rest of the day with the biggest smile on her face. She tells the Jones family of their amazing news. Once the day has ended and everybody has gone to bed, it is just Jughead and Betty that remain awake. He tells her how her mum got in contact with him about the two of them working for the paper and coming to live back in Riverdale, how she had originally offered for them to move into the Cooper family home until they had found a home of their own. He had contacted Cheryl and she began to search high and low for the perfect little home for the pair and their daughter.

"So when can I see the house?"

"We can go tomorrow, I got the keys yesterday, it's a beautiful house Betty, 4 Bedrooms, 2 and half baths and garden that you'll love"

She pats around searching for her phone "All the excitement, I forgot to call V"

"Well I'm going for a shower, I'll see you upstairs"

She presses call and waits for Veronica to answer "Hey B, what did Santa bring you this year?"

"Santa brought me nothing but … JUGHEAD JONES BOUGHT ME A FUCKING HOUSE" she shouts into the speaker.

"WHAT?!"

Luna is 1 years old.

Betty looks over at Luna who crawling around in her now dirty dress. Today has been spent celebrating her first birthday. Luna's first birthday was a milestone and both her parents had been excited to celebrate but both in different ways. While Betty had wanted the whole world to know it was their daughters day by throwing a party and inviting just about everyone they knew. Jughead had preferred it to be a more intimate gathering with just their close friends and families. In the end Betty reluctantly agreed to Jughead's idea.

It had been a lovely day, their friends had come down and their house was full of people who loved the little girl. Luna was more than happy to accept all the attention she was getting from all their guests and she loved present time where once again, she was more interested In unwrapping her gifts than the gifts themselves.

"Luna no!" Jughead calls as Luna reaches for a cup of water that had been left by one of their guests "Please don't do that" he says and gives her a stern look as she lets go of the coffee tables edge and falls on to her bum.

"Our daughter is an angel" Betty grins as she scoops the girl up from the floor "Is it Luna's bed time?" She lays her head on Betty's shoulder and sighs.

"I think she's telling you she's tired, take her up, I'll finish up down here and pour us a glass of wine" Jugheads turns for the kitchen as Betty takes Luna to her room. They had moved into their Riverdale home at the end of January. It had taken a while to sort out all their arrangements with the mortgage company and the solicitors but once they got the green light Betty went about organising their move. Jughead was having fun working at the Register with her mum who had decided to stay on for a few more months and leave permanently when Betty chooses to return to work.

She puts a tired Luna in her crib and there is no fuss because she has had a long day so Betty changes out of her linen dress, that's more suited for summer rather than a chilly February Saturday but she had liked the dress. When she gets back to the living room it is a lot tidier.

"Wow" she mutters

"Wow what?" He hands her a glass of the expensive red wine that Ethel had sent them as a housewarming gift.

"You actually cleaned"

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah but Jug, you never tidied the loft"

"That's different"

"How?"

"We were foolish teens" he grins "Now we are parents in a home with a kid, I gotta clean"

"Can you believe this is our life Jughead?" She puts her glass down and sits back.

"What, baby sick and shitty nappies?"

"No, you dork, a home together and Moonbug"

"You know Cheryl said something earlier that made me laugh, she was holding Luna and she was like doing that cute voice everyone does with kids and going on about how she can't believe Luna is one already then she turns to me and says 'Can't believe you and Betty kept a kid alive for a year' I nearly chocked on an olive"

"Sometimes I think the same"

This surprises him "Really?"

"Yep. I mean we were stupid and I got pregnant, we could just about look after ourselves let alone a kid"

"I dunno, I disagree. You've looked after me for years and I'm not much different than Luna"

"I've always just wanted to look after you Jughead" she sighs

"Come here" he slides down on the sofa, opens his arms and she lies on top of him.

"I've been rooting for us since we were 16"

"So have I Betts, it wasn't one sided"

"It felt like it was"

"Well Ms Cooper, it wasn't and it most certainly isn't now"

"I know" she mumbles into his chest.

"We had a slow start, that's all. February 14th is the day our lives changed, we're going to be connected forever Betty, that little girl upstairs is part you and part me and I can't wait to make memories in our home together."

"I love you"

"I love you"

Betty was fed up. Fed up might have be the wrong words to describe how Betty was feeling, she was bored. She knows women all over the country decide to be stay at home mums and they are fine with it. She wasn't. She loved being home with Luna, she loved her daughter but she wanted to work. She found herself jealous of Jughead who got to start a career in something he loved, something she loved and she wanted to do the same.

"Are you sure? I mean Elizabeth, it's an amazing opportunity and it will still be there for you in a year, you don't have to rush. As I said I can help with Lu but _are you sure_?"

"I'm sure mum." she breathed out "Like you said all the time when we were growing up, it is possible to be a good working mum, like you are. I can do it mum. "

"I suppose you're right."

"Yes I am right mother." Betty rolled her eyes, she takes the phone from ear and switches it to speaker as she picks up Lunas scattered toys "Mum I better go. It's coming up to 6 and I wanted to have dinner done before Juggie gets home from work and Moonbug will be up soon and I won't be able to get anything done"

"Alright alright, what is Jughead going to do when you start working full time and have Lu to look after when you get home? Who will feed him?" Alice chuckles

"He has hands"

Alice sighed "Betty, why don't you just talk to him? This affects him too"

"No no no. I've said it so many times, when I go back to work it'll be solely my decision"

"What if he doesn't agree? Just think about it and talk to Jughead, I thought you were happy with how things were."

"I am very happy." Betty growled "I just think I need to get back to work, we just need to get this all sorted and everything will be fine." She wasn't sure who she was convincing at this point, her mum or herself.

"Well as long as you're sure."

"Once again mum, I am sure." She smiles whilst juggling Luna's dinner and pasta in her hands "Luna doesn't need me 24/7, she'll have you too"

"HONEY I'M HOME!" She hears as she drops all the pasta she was holding onto the counter.

"Jesus Jug! Could you be any more louder? Luna is asleep" chides Betty as she tries to scoop up the mess.

"Sorry." He states as he hangs his jacket up and scoops Betty up by her knees "Hello my love." he pecks her lips. He smells like ink and she loves it, almost as much as she loves him.

"Put me down you dork" she chortled "Mum I gotta go, the man of the house is home and he must be starved" her sarcastic remark earns her another kiss.

"Hey Mrs C, Bye Mrs C" Jughead calls from the hallway as he runs up the stairs to their daughters room.

"DADDA" Betty hears Luna shout.

"Love you mum" she places her phone down and finally starts dinner.

A/N: Did you notice the full circle parallel from Chapter 1?

I hope you liked this story, may upload some codas in the future :)

Tumblr: remyrabid xxxxxxxx

P.s I started a new multichapter called 'What Does Weak Mean?', please give it a read.


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